The Other Man
by Charlie Shephard
Summary: Jack and Kate are best friends with a past. A past best left behind them. But when another man moves into Kate's life and threatens to take Jack's place, will those past feelings resurface?
1. Just One Night

**Title: The Other Man**

**Rating: T**

**Summary: Jack and Kate are best friends with a past. A past best left behind them. But when another man moves into Kate's life and threatens to take Jack's place, will those past feelings resurface? (BTW, I am aware that sounds extremely bad/corny/unreadable, but bear with me...summaries are harder than you'd think :D)**

**A/N: I don't own Jack or Kate or anything to do with Lost for that matter. I also don't own any of the movies/songs I may refer to at some point during this fic. The only thing I own right now is (most of) the dialogue. But if ABC would like to change that... :D.**

**It's taken me a while to figure out how I wanted to start this, and I'm sorry it's taken a while. I have the first two chapters written, but I don't wanna go any farther in case this idea doesn't go down well. So if you like the beginning of the story, PLEASE LET ME KNOW. If you don't like it, tell me that as well, then I can give it an ending and move on to bigger and better ideas :D. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1: Just One Night**

"Dude. C'mon, you have got to come to this party tomorrow. We got one last chance to have some fun before finals. Don't tell me you're gonna sit in the apartment and study all weekend?" Mark said as he and Jack walked the short distance from their apartment to the Columbia gym.

"I dunno man, with the classes I'm taking finals are going to be really tough. I'm not sure if I wanna risk it?" Jack replied casually.

"C'mon Jacky-boy, live a little. One night, then you can study all you want." Mark insisted. "You can make the textbooks tired for all I care."

Jack thought about it for a second, recalling all the crazy schemes Mark had created that had nearly gotten them in all sorts of trouble, before reaching a decision.

"Alright. One night. Then will you quit bugging me?" Jack pleaded, hoping Mark would lay off, Jack had more important things on his mind than some party.

"That's my boy! I gotta call Will, tell him we're in for the beer-pong tournament. Hold on a sec, bro." Mark said excitedly, reaching for his phone.

"Whoa. I agreed to go, not get plastered out of my mind. Who's Will anyway?" Jack asked, his interest peaked.

"Jack. I am the best beer-pong player this side of Manhattan. Relax. And Will's the guy who's hosting the party. He doesn't go to Columbia, NYU I think." Mark explained as he dialed his friend's number.

"Right." Jack answered, chuckling at Mark's arrogance. "I'm gonna grab a water from the store, I'll meet you out here in a few seconds." Jack said, drawing a thumbs-up sign from Mark, who was already on the phone.

Jack walked into the store and found an 18oz bottle of water, quickly paying and walking out to find Mark talking to Kate, Jack's best friend- despite their recent troubles.

Kate was a student at NYU, but she'd known Jack since their days of high school together in California. While Jack had been accepted into Columbia as a pre-med student, Kate was going after a nursing degree at NYU.

"Hey Kate." Jack greeted as he walked back towards them.

"Hey." Kate replied curtly, before quickly turning her attentions back to Mark.

Mark noticed the briskness of her response, shooting a quick look at Jack, then turned back to Kate. "So, you wanna come? Me and Jack will be there."

"I'm sorry Mark, but I can't. Kevin's taking me out tomorrow night. He says he got us invitations to this really exclusive party. Not many people are invited." Kate explained, causing Jack to cringe at the mention of her boyfriend- again something Mark didn't miss.

"Oh, that's to bad. Maybe we'll see you sometime during the night though." Mark said reassuringly.

"Yea, maybe. I've gotta go meet Kevin, I'll see you guys around." She said, much more to Mark than to Jack.

"Have fun, Kate." Mark said while Jack remained silent.

"Let's get going." Jack said softly, and he continued to walk towards Columbia at a very quick pace.

"What the hell's gotten into you, man? You didn't even try to talk to her. If you don't start trying, things aren't going to fix themselves." Mark asked, concerned for his friend.

"Yea, I know Mark. But I'm having a hard time doing that. Anything else you'd like to lecture me about, or can we concentrate on basketball?" Jack snapped.

"Alright, alright, but don't think I missed your reaction at hearing her boyfriend's name." Mark chided him.

"What reaction?" Jack feigned obliviousness.

Mark immediately repeated the name of Kate's boyfriend and saw Jack give the same exact reaction. "That reaction." He said as they entered the gym, a triumphant grin plastered on his face.

They signed out a basketball from the gym, found an empty hoop and started playing. Jack was definitely not at the top of his game, and Mark beat him 1-on-1 easily, with a score of 11-4.

"Damn, Kate's really on your mind, isn't she?" Mark said as she sat down for a break between games.

"What makes you think that?" Jack said, trying to play it cool.

"Well, I haven't beaten you in three weeks. Last time I did you'd just failed a midterm in Biology. So I'd say something's on your mind." Mark explained, laughing.

"No, I just had a bad game. Plus, you've gotten a lot better." Jack argued.

"I've been practicing, Jack, but not that much. You wanna know what I think?" Mark asked.

"Not really." Jack said. _But you're going to tell me anyway._

"I think you got a thing for Kate." Mark said. Upon seeing Jack look downward at the accusation, he continued, "I'm right, aren't I?"

Jack looked up at him and stood up quickly, walking over to the basketball. Picking it up, he threw it hard at Mark's chest before walking out onto the court. "Let's go. One more game."

Whatever was on Jack's mind, it would have to wait.

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"Alright dude, here's the plan. You're going to drink yourself out of this thing with Kate. Because I absolutely refuse to be a third wheel- it just won't happen." Mark joked. "Well that and I don't wanna see you hurt, because I don't think she feels the same way, seeing as she's got a boyfriend and all."

"Whatever, Mark." Jack said, as he opened the door into the fraternity house.

They stepped into the house and surveyed the scene before them; Jack began walking over to the beer-pong table, stopping when Mark grabbed his arm.

"Change of plan, Jacky-boy. Find yourself a woman, and do your thing." Mark said, patting Jack on the back as he walked off muttering, "I have got to come here more often."

Jack wasn't particularly in the mood for partying, but even he agreed he'd need a few drinks to get his crush- that's what it was, nothing more- off of his mind.

Meanwhile, across town, Kate was waiting patiently for Kevin to arrive at her apartment. She was making some final make-up adjustments in the mirror when the doorbell rang. "Hey." She greeted as Kevin brought her lips to his in a chaste kiss.

"Hey, you. Ready to go?" Kevin asked politely.

"Yea, just let me grab my purse." Kate replied, wandering over to the coffee table. As she picked up her purse, she knocked over her picture of herself and Jack after their high school graduation, in which they were both smiling.

A wave of sadness and regret came over when she brought her eyes upwards toward the cause of their current predicament- Kevin.

From the beginning of freshmen year, it was abundantly clear that Jack and Kate were inseparable. But the odd thing was, they weren't a couple- they were just two _really_ good friends. The only reason Mark had even become friends with Jack was because they were both looking for a roommate at the time. They were so close that it was almost an unwritten rule that you didn't come between them. Numerous people had tried at first, Kate having been asked out three times in the first week of school, but for her, Jack always came first.

Kate knew that a lot of girls at the school really liked Jack, and she'd seen a few of them shamelessly flirting with him throughout campus, but Jack had quickly refused every one of their advances, always citing a lack of interest.

But about two months ago, Kevin had come around. She had wanted to tell him she wasn't interested, but for some reason she felt like he could be different. After a night of little sleep and a lot of thought, she finally accepted his offer of dinner and a movie, and it turned out to be the right decision.

About a week into their relationship though, Jack had come to talk her about it. He'd told her that he missed spending time with her, and that he didn't think Kevin was the right guy for her. She'd responded by telling him to get out, and asking him why he couldn't just be happy for her. An action she'd come to regret a few days later.

Since that time, she and Jack had been on somewhat rocky terms- Mark generally the only reason they met so often, and when they did it was usually a very short conversation with very little eye contact.

"Babe, is something wrong?" Kevin asked, pulling Kate out of her thoughts.

"No, let's go." Kate answered, smiling sadly as she placed the picture back on the table.

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Jack had gone slightly overboard compared to his original plan, and was on his 6th beer. He wasn't much of a drinker, and was buzzing slightly.

"Hey, handsome." Jack barely heard the voice behind him and turned around to find a stunning brunette standing only inches away from him.

"Hi." Jack responded coldly, hoping to repel the woman's advances. He'd almost reached his alcohol limit and wanted to finish the night in peace.

"I'm Ana-Lucia." The woman said, extending her hand.

"Jack." He replied, taking the woman's hand, looking up to see a grinning Mark standing a few feet behind her.

Reluctantly at first, they struck up a conversation, Ana-Lucia flirting at all possible opportunities. Jack had to admit, she was a very attractive woman, he just wasn't sure if he could deal with all this emotionally right now.

"Look Ana-Lucia, you're—" Jack began, but was interrupted.

"What d'ya say we head upstairs?" Ana-Lucia whispered into Jack's ear seductively, lingering a few seconds longer than absolutely necessary- probably a result of her alcohol consumption.

"I'm not—" Jack began once again.

"Upstairs. First bedroom on the right. 15 minutes." Ana-Lucia whispered into his ear once again, not withdrawing this time without kissing his jaw.

Jack didn't reply, just walked as the woman walked off and disappeared into the crowd. It wasn't long before Mark walked up to take her place in front of him.

"Did what I think just happened… just happen?" Mark said quickly.

"That depends on what you think just happened?" Jack said slowly, not really interested in the conversation.

"An amazingly hot woman just told you she wants you upstairs tonight? Naked? Doing the horizontal mambo? Dipping your potato chips in her salsa?" Mark supplied.

"Dipping my potato chips in her—what does that even mean?" Jack raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I dunno. I ran out of cool metaphors on such short notice." Mark, who was way more drunk than Jack, replied, "but she did didn't she?"

"Yea. She did." Jack replied softly.

"Then what the hell are you still doing down here? This is the perfect opportunity to get over your little crush. You can have at least one night of fun with Ana-Lucia, then call Kate in the morning, and give Kevin your blessing now that you're over her. And then of course, you can call me and thank me for being the best wingman in the world." Mark rambled on.

"But you didn't do anything, Mark." Jack responded quickly.

"How do you know she wasn't all over me and I helped her over this way? Anyway, that's beside the point. Get upstairs. Or I will call Kate right now and tell her how you feel. And if you think you two are awkward now, just you wait." Mark half-jokingly threatened.

"OK." Jack said, the alcohol inside him warming him up to the idea. _How bad could it be?_, Jack thought.

"That's my boy."

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"I'll go and get us some drinks. Wait here, and I'll be right back-." Kevin said as they walked into the house.

"OK." Kate replied, smiling. "Hey Kevin, how'd you get an invitation here? This place is huge."

"Oh, I know a guy." Kevin replied cryptically. "Billy." He supplied in response to Kate's frown.

Kate didn't know many people at the party, they were mainly Kevin's friends, and so she didn't have much to do while Kevin was gone. She waited patiently for a few minutes, just looking around and taking in her surroundings. Kate was never really comfortable with new places and new people, but Kevin could vouch for these people, and she trusted Kevin, so her nerves were at somewhat of ease.

She waited fifteen minutes for her boyfriend to return, figuring that was enough to grab two beers and greet Billy, so she made her way towards the bar, searching for Kevin the entire way.

She reached the bar and asked the man behind it, "Hi, have you seen a tall guy, short blondish hair?"

"What you mean, Kevin?" He asked, and Kate nodded, "He's over there with his girlfriend?"

"What do you mean girlfriend? I'm his girlfriend." Kate asked, extremely worried and confused.

"I dunno, but he's over there. See?" He said pointing to the far corner of the room.

There was Kevin, hooking up with a girl she'd never seen before. She had medium-length blonde hair and was extremely skinny. Kate was seething as she hurried over to them.

She stood behind Kevin, folding her arms across her chest, but Kevin was to engrossed in this blonde slut that he didn't even notice. She cleared her throat in hopes to get his attention, but all she got for her efforts was a clear view of Kevin's hand venturing inside the blonde's shirt.

That put Kate over the edge. She tapped him hard on the shoulder, and soon as he turned around and noticed her presence she slapped him hard across the face.

"Kate? I thought I told you to wait by the front." Kevin said, surprised to see her, as he rubbed his cheek.

"What? So you could have time to make out with the blonde whore over here?" Kate yelled back, causing the blonde to slink off into the crowd.

"Look, I'm sorry Kate. I should've told you. I've been seeing her for a while, and I didn't think she was gonna be here. Then when I saw her—" Kevin pathetically attempted to think of an excuse.

"Save it for someone who gives a shit, you jerk." Kate said, turning on her heels and running as far away from he could. Seeing as Kevin had driven her here, she couldn't leave so she did the next best thing. She hurried up the stairs, tears flowing and crying in hysterics, and launched herself into the nearest room she could find. Lying on the bed in tears, she soon climbed under the covers and continued to sob.

She was so busy thinking about how much she hated Kevin at that moment that it took her a moment to realize that Jack had been right. He was right about Kevin, and she'd pushed him away because of it. This thought only brought around more tears, more sobs and more uncontrollable shaking.

Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw the door open quickly and then close again within seconds, but right now that was the last thing on her mind.

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After finally having been convinced by Mark to meet this mysterious Ana-Lucia upstairs, Jack was having second thoughts. And so Mark had done what he usually did, and discovered a need for more alcohol. He had polished off another beer before he'd seen Ana-Lucia head up the stairs towards the bedrooms and literally been pushed after her by Mark, who proceeded to wink when Jack looked back at him.

About halfway up the stairs, Jack decided he wasn't going to sleep with this woman. She was obviously plastered and not thinking straight, and he still had emotional issues to deal with.

He walked up the stairs and into the specified room, opening the door slowly, expecting to see the woman lying naked on the bed in her inebriated state, but instead he saw the brunette huddled up inside the bed, already asleep.

Confused but slightly relieved, Jack smiled to himself. The effects of the alcohol had taken hold of her body slightly quicker than she had probably hoped.

Jack turned around and opened the door once again to leave, but heard a sob emanate from the bed, and immediately turned around.

He had half a thought to continue walking out the door, the woman was clearly drunk and not thinking clearly, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"Hello? Are you OK?" Jack asked softly, inching forward toward the figure huddled underneath the sheets.

"I'm fine. Go away!" She responded, clearly not wanting the company any more.

In his slightly drunken state, Jack thought there was something familiar about the voice, but attributed it to the amount of alcohol in his system. "Are you sure? You don't sound OK Ana-Lucia. What's wrong?"

"Who the hell is Ana-Lucia?" The figure responded, turning around, revealing her identity.

"Kate? What are you doing here? I thought Kevin was taking you out across town?" Jack asked incredulously.

"Don't mention that jerk's name around me ever again!" Kate yelled through her sobs.

At this, Jack's protective and caring side quickly took over. He was at Kate's side, sitting on the edge of the bed within seconds.

"Kate, what did he do to you? What's wrong?" Jack asked, affected by Kate's distressed crying.

"I saw him making out with some whore downstairs." Kate answered in between deep breaths.

"I'll kill him." Jack muttered as he got up, but was pulled back by Kate's desperate arm.

"Jack. Stay with me?" She pleaded with him.

At seeing her face, complete with tears and puffy eyes, the anger dissipated in Jack. He could deal with Kevin later, but now, Kate needed him.

Jack walked quickly around the bed leaning up against the headboard, and encouraged Kate to do the same. She complied quickly, pulling herself up, resting her head in the crook of Jack's neck. They both remained silent for a while, as Jack placed frequent kisses on her forehead and stroked her arms with his.

"I'm so stupid." Kate sobbed.

"No, how could you have known. This wasn't your fault, Kate. You need to understand that. I'm here for you." Jack disagreed.

"You were right, Jack. There was something about him; I don't know why I didn't see him. I'm so stupid!" She cried, causing Jack to draw her closer to him.

"This isn't your fault Kate, you couldn't have seen something this horrible coming. You don't deserve this- you need to remember that. This is Kevin's loss not yours." Jack attempted to sooth her emotions.

"Then how did you know it wasn't going to work out?" Kate said, removing herself from Jack's chest and looking him straight in the eyes.

"I didn't." Jack replied shortly. He knew the reason he didn't approve in the first place, but the last thing he wanted to do right now was cause more trouble.

"Then why'd you say something?" Kate asked pointedly. She wasn't going to let this go without an answer.

It was now or never.

"Because…" Jack paused, "I...I was worried for you." He muttered, berating himself for chickening out once again. _Because I was jealous!_

Kate looked him in the eyes, her own eyes red from the crying and vulnerability, and reached her hands to caress his cheeks. It felt so good to have her touch him like this, it felt so right. Then she brought her lips crashing down onto his and kissed him with a passion he'd never thought possible.

It was a sensation he'd gone far to long without. He had a moment of doubt where his conscience debated whether this was the right thing to do with Kate, in her vulnerable state, but in the end his heart won out and he returned the kiss with the same amount of fervor- if not more.

He felt Kate's hands leave his face and slowly find their way down to chest, one of them not stopping until it reached his belt buckle. Jack responded by reaching his arms around Kate and pulling her even closer; he'd wanted this for to long to stop now.

Kate, having just finished with his belt, broke off the kiss for the few seconds it took to tear the shirt over his head, before pushing him down towards the bed.

As Jack felt his pants slide off of his legs, he just hoped he wouldn't come to regret this in the morning, because tonight had turned out to be one of the best nights of his life.

**A/N: Oh, one last thing! Please tell me if you saw the end of this chapter coming. My friend gave me the idea to make it a surprise hook-up at the end there, and I'm not sure if I pulled it off. Reviews are greatly appreciated, even bad ones :D. I can take it, promise.**

**Coming Up: Everyone needs to talk after something like that right?**


	2. Opportunity Knocks

**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews on the first chapter, I'm glad you all liked it. I'm sorry about the longer update time (really busy work week) for this chapter, but hopefully it was worth the wait. I should be able to get out updates faster than once per week, work depending. Enjoy! (and please review! :D).**

**Chapter 2: Opportunity Knocks**

_The next morning, Jack awoke with a slight headache but, thinking about how much more he would've drank if he'd listened to Mark's always-sound advice, considered himself lucky. Right now, all Jack wanted was to get home, take a few Advil and start studying for a grueling week of finals_

_Jack started to get out of the bed, first swinging his legs over the side of the bed, when he noticed he was no longer wearing pants. That simple fact brought the memories flooding back and, combined with the headache, was enough to force him to lie down again._

"_Oh shit." He whispered to himself. _This is not good.

"_Mmmmm." Jack heard Kate moan slightly in her sleep, before rolling over so that she was now facing Jack._

"_Oh shit." Jack repeated to himself. What was he going to do? He couldn't leave Kate here alone; Jack was a lot of things, but he'd like to think in among the long list was the word gentleman._

_After a few moments of painful deliberation Jack decided he'd lay here until Kate woke up. Then he'd pretend he was asleep and wait to see what she did. He knew it was the coward's approach, but he'd done enough damage to his relationship with Kate in the past few weeks, and the last thing he wanted to do was ruin it completely._

_Jack settled back into the bed slowly and quietly, resting his head on the pillow as he looked up at the ceiling thinking about last night._

_He definitely regretted it. _Why do I always have to think with my penis? I had a chance to redeem myself after all the shit I gave her about Kevin and what do I do?,_ Jack thought shaking his head in utter annoyance._

"_Jack?" Mark's loud voice echoed through the room. Typical Mark had gotten so drunk last night that he was still feelings the effects this morning- what other excuse could he have for barging into a room in which Jack could still be having sex?_

_Jack looked up from the pillow and one sight of Mark confirmed his theory. "Shut up, Kate's sleeping." He mouthed, pointing to Kate's still body._

"_What'd you say, buddy? I can't hear you when you talk so quiet. Who's sleeping?" Mark basically yelled. "Wait a minute. Is that—Kate?" _

_At the sound of her name, Kate awoke from her slumber._

"_What the hell is going on? Who's yelling my name?" She said, rubbing her eyes to help to wake her up. Evidently what had happened last night hadn't come back to her memory. Yet._

"_Jack? What are you doing in bed with me?" Kate said, suddenly startled, "Oh god, we…didn't we?" She said lifting up the cover momentarily to peek inside, making Jack suddenly blush, feeling self-conscious. "Oh god, we did." She whispered exasperatedly._

"_Yea, I think I'm gonna leave now. Leave you two lovebirds to uhh…talk." Mark said, sliding out of the room._

"_Lovebirds?" Kate asked, confused, putting her hand on her forehead._

"_He's still drunk." Jack said, not wanting to discuss the 'events' of the previous night just yet._

"_We really did it last night, didn't we?" _Too late.

"_Yea, looks like we did." Jack replied, the awkward feeling rising inside him._

"_Wow. After how last night started, I didn't think I'd end up sleeping with someone. Especially not you, Jack." Kate said, immediately regretting how it sounded._

_Jack's insides cringed at Kate's last words, but he did his best not to show it. "Yea, me neither." _

_An uncomfortable silence followed, where both of them looked everywhere but at each other. Finally though, Jack's gentlemanly side shone through._

"_Hey, if you get dressed, I'll call you a cab. It's the least I can do after—" Jack offered._

"_No, Jack. I think we really need to talk about this. Besides, you didn't take advantage of me. I was way more sober than you last night, and I definitely made the first move. All you did was comfort me." Kate said, surprising Jack. He never thought she'd be this calm about what happened, especially considering how they'd been acting towards one another recently._

"_I was kind of afraid of that, but I see your point. Let's talk." Jack said softly._

"_Look." They both began simultaneously. "You first." They both continued at the same time, before Kate burst into a fit of giggles._

_Jack put his hand on her forearm, and said, "You go first. I'll listen."_

_Kate nodded, smiling slightly. "Jack, I'm not going to lie, last night was great, and as much as I think I should, I don't regret it." She began, pausing as she noticed the smile on Jack's face, "But we can't let it happen again." The smile on Jack's face instantly disappeared._

"_Wh—" Jack started, put was interrupted by Kate's finger on his lips._

"_Do you remember why we became friends in the first place, Jack?" Kate asked, ready to explain herself._

"_Of course I do. We uhh…dated for a few weeks after I asked you out, and we found out we had similar interests, and liked spending time with each other. We just don't work as a couple. I said some stupid things…did some stupid things…the point is, we decided the best way for us to 'be together' was as friends. Haven't looked back since. Well until a few weeks ago." Jack finished; his voice trailing off so low that Kate could barely make out the final words._

"_No, we definitely haven't. But, as good as last night was, it was only that good because there wasn't any emotion involved." Kate explained, "You were pretty drunk, and I wasn't exactly sober either- with what happened with _him_." Kate still refused to say the name. _

_Jack's face was silent, but his mind was racing. _So…is she reconsidering?

"_I know myself, and if we keep doing this I don't think I'll be able to separate the sex from my emotions, and we'll end up as a couple again. And, seeing how last time went, I don't think either of us wants that. Right?" Kate asked, more for confirmation than anything. But for Jack, he was mustering the courage it would take to disagree with her._

"_I mean. I know I don't." Kate added almost as an afterthought._

"_Yea, me neither." Jack agreed sadly; it was yet another opportunity lost._

"Jack? Jack? You gotta wake up. There's a problem with Mrs. Wilkinson in Room 16." Kate asked, lightly shaking Jack's shoulder.

"Huh? What? Kate?" Jack said, slowly waking up from his sleep. "What time is it?"

"Jack. We have to go. It's Mrs. Wilkinson. She's not breathing. You're the on call doctor." Kate urged him to hurry up.

Jack was off the bed in a hurry. "Shit. Let's go. What room is she in?" He said, wiping the sleep out of his eyes.

"Room 16, Jack. Follow me." Kate said, before turning on her heel and rushing out of the room and down the hall, Jack right on her heels. In less than thirty seconds, they arrived at Mrs. Wilkinson's room, the patient surrounded by three other nurses waiting for Jack's command.

"Shit, her trachea's collapsing. We're going to have to intubate!" Jack called out, extending his hand for the materials required. "Hand me the laryngoscope!"

Jack grabbed the laryngoscope to get a better view at the problem, and quickly assessed the damage. "Yea. Shit, we're running out of time." He cursed to himself and grabbed the plastic tube from Kate's hand, carefully threading it down the patient's throat with the aid of the laryngoscope. It took him a few seconds to steady the tube and make sure it was functioning. "There. Got it." He muttered to himself. _Only a few seconds to spare._

Jack pulled the stethoscope from around his neck to check his handiwork. Everything appeared OK, she was breathing normally and the monitors appeared normal. Heart Rate and Oxygen Saturation levels were within the specified ranges. "She's going to be OK. Kate, can you have someone keep a close eye on her for the next few hours in case something changes?" Jack asked.

"No problem, Dr. Shephard. I'll get someone on it right away." Kate answered, turning to head back to the Nurses' station. As the wing's head nurse, coordinating nursing schedules and special assignments were some of her main duties. Kate had only been promoted a few months ago, but she'd adapted quickly, and had become Jack's favorite nurse to work with- and Jack wouldn't have it any other way.

"Hey, Kate. Thanks." Jack said, slightly quieter than he had when addressed her in front of the patient. As much as he hated it when she called him Dr. Shephard, she had told him that she was going to keep it as professional as possible while the others were around. Only when they weren't surrounded by nurses and interns would they resume their friendly social relationship.

"No problem, Jack." Kate replied, her eyes shining. Before they'd worked together, Jack had thought he took losing patients badly, but after he'd seen Kate lose her first he'd changed his mind instantly. Kate was almost inconsolable after losing someone.

_What time is it?_, Jack thought, glancing up at the clock above the Nurses' station. It read 3:13am. _Shit. This is going to be a long night._

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After what seemed like an eternity, both Jack and Kate's shift finally ended. It had been a particularly grueling night, and neither had slept for more than an hour in the two days, but they hadn't lost any patients so it wasn't all for nothing.

"Hey Kate, you wanna grab breakfast before heading home, I'm starving." Jack said in the elevator as they made their way to the ground floor.

"I'd love to, Jack. I don't have much food left at home anyway." Kate answered, pressing the floor for the hospital cafeteria quickly on the elevator controls.

"Great." Jack answered as they stepped off the elevator and headed towards the cafeteria.

They both opted for a light breakfast, Jack grabbing a sesame bagel, while Kate picked up a corn muffin and a coffee.

"Long night, huh?" Jack said, gesturing towards the extra large cup of coffee in Kate's hands.

"Yea. Not all of us get to sleep half the night, you know." Kate joked.

"Hey. I could ask the Chief of Medicine if you could sleep with me, but I doubt he'd allow it." Jack said, immediately cursing himself after hearing himself say it.

"Really? I thought he'd be all for sex while on call." Kate sarcastically remarked.

"You know what I meant Kate." Jack said, frowning at her, causing her to laugh.

"Yea, I did. But I couldn't resist seeing the look on your face." Kate said smiling.

"Wow, you're in a really happy mood this morning, considering how little you slept. What's up with you?" Jack asked, his interest peaked.

"I thought you'd have figured it out by now Jack. After working with me in the ICU for what? 6 years now?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders. He had no idea why she was this happy.

"We didn't lose anyone last night. The night couldn't have gone any better." Kate said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Right." Jack laughed, "Listen, there's been something I've been meaning to ask you."

Kate momentarily stopped sipping from her coffee cup and looked up at Jack.

"My dad's renewing his vows to Margo this weekend, and I checked 'plus one'. But as you well know, I'm not seeing anyone right now. So I was wondering—" Jack began.

"Are you saying you'd like me to go with you, Jack Shephard?" Kate asked smugly, grinning.

"Uhh, yea actually. Would you like to?" Jack asked, feeling like he was in high school again.

"Jack, you shouldn't even have to ask. I'd love to go. I haven't seen your dad in ages." Kate said, wondering how long it had actually been.

"Yea, well, it's not my dad I'm worried about you seeing again." Jack remarked, recalling the last time Margo had talked to Kate. Suffice it to say, it hadn't gone well.

"It'll be fine Jack, she was just having a bad day." Kate assured him.

"In that case, she has a lot of bad days." Jack answered, chuckling.

They continued to eat in relative silence, enjoying the friendly company and the newfound energy the breakfast gave them. All of a sudden, Jack's beeper went off.

"Damnit. Dr. Brennan wants to see me in his office." Jack muttered, picking up his tray.

"Dr. Brennan? I don't think I've met him." Kate said.

"Yea, he's the new Chief of Surgery. Just transferred here from San Diego. I think he wants to try and talk me into a surgical career, you know…after my dad and all. I'm sure you'll meet him eventually." Jack said. "I'll see you later, hopefully this won't take long."

"Yea. We have a day off finally. So maybe we can get some dinner? Or just go do something." Kate said, spouting ideas off out loud.

"Yea, I'll call you when I get home."

"Great. Have fun with the big bad Chief of Surgery Jack."

"Is that even possible?" Jack replied sarcastically, trudging off back towards the elevator, hoping he could get in and out of this meeting and enjoy his time off.

**A/N: That's it for this chapter, hope you enjoyed it. If you did, then PLEASE REVIEW. If you didn't, then TELL ME WHY. If I get a decent amount of reviews I may be tempted to update faster :D. But it'll all depend on my work schedule. **

**Coming Up: That dinner Jack and Kate were talking about. **


	3. Out of the Blue

**A/N: Well after a much shorter wait here's chapter 3. Thank you for the reviews I did get, but I was kind of disappointed the amount of reviews for Chapter 2. I'm going to chalk it up to a filler chapter and just some bad timing. Hopefully the reviews will pick up this time, or I'm going to start thinking you've lost interest in the story. This is why its VERY IMPORTANT to review, even if you don't like it. Honestly, I can take it. Anyway he's Chapter 3, hopefully you like it.**

**Chapter 3: Out of the Blue**

Jack's meeting with the new Chief of Surgery had taken longer than he'd originally expected, having lasted almost two hours. As he'd feared, Dr. Brennan had tried to convince him to dump the Intensive Care Unit for a surgical career, something Jack was extremely wary of doing.

His father had chosen the surgical path, and it had drastically affected his lifestyle. Extremely long hours at the hospital and longer hours than those drinking away the loss of patients left him with very little time to spend with Margo and his then newborn son- Jack.

Up until the age of 6, Jack rarely saw his father. During those first few years though, Jack rarely noticed as his attention could easily be grasped by blocks, toy trucks and the simple fact that his mother _was _around when his father was not.

But as Jack reached the age of Kindergarten the problem began to amplify itself. Jack noticed more and more often that his father wasn't around, and had caught him drinking in the living room on numerous occasions. At first he rationed to himself he was coping with the loss of a patient, but as the alcohol consumption grew more routine, he realized his dad had become an alcoholic.

As he moved through the ranks of middle school Jack noticed his absence more than ever. Baseball, Basketball, Soccer; his father was never present. He'd even arrived a half hour late to his 8th grade graduation, a year in which he was salutatorian.

It was when Jack first attended high school that he actively tried to 'replace' his father. He found someone who he could really open up to, who he spent comfortable spending his time around- a girl named Kate Austen. Thinking back, Jack supposed he had his father's alcoholism to thank for becoming so close to Kate, a blessing in disguise.

Jack walked into his apartment, and played off his messages. The first one was from Dr. Brennan. _Damn, this guy's persistent._

"Hey, Jack. It's Dr. Brennan from St. Sebastien's. Just calling to let you know that when you've made a decision about the surgical training to let me know and I'll get you started immediately." The message machine replayed.

_Delete. _Jack pressed the button to delete the message, and it almost made him feel better. The next message that played was from Kate. _Finally, a friendly voice._

"Hey Jack, it's me. I know you're probably asleep, I was just wondering if you wanted to get some dinner later, call me." The message machine played.

Jack didn't even bother to listen to the rest of his messages, instead immediately picking up the phone and dialing Kate's number. The phone rang only twice before Kate picked up on the other end.

"Hello?" Kate picked up the phone.

"Hey, Kate. It's me." Jack responded.

"Oh, hey Jack. What's up?" Kate greeted him, smiling on the other end

"I was just calling you back about dinner tonight. You still wanna go right?" Jack asked, confirming as he always did.

"Yea, definitely. I haven't eaten anything but hospital food for days." She quipped, giggling through the phone.

"Same here. So how about I come pick you up at like seven? Then we can figure out where we wanna go?" Jack suggested.

"Sounds good. But nowhere too fancy OK?" Kate checked, just to be sure.

"Yea. I hear ya, I'll see you in a few hours." Jack affirmed.

"Bye, Jack." Kate said goodbye, hanging up the phone.

"Cya." Jack replied in kind before tossing the phone onto a chair and plopping down onto the couch beside it for a well-deserved nap. He had about six hours until he had to pick Kate up, more than enough time to recuperate from his shift last night.

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Jack picked Kate up at seven like he'd promised and, both dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, headed for the nearest diner at Kate's request.

"This one looks good right?" Jack said, as they drove past the Atlantis Diner.

"Yea, Jack. It's not like we haven't been here a thousand times before." Kate joked, smiling.

"Yea, well. Just checking." Jack returned her smile, pulling into the parking lot.

They quickly entered the diner and got a table, almost immediately settling in to order. Having had a diet consisting of hospital 'food', they both ordered hearty meals consisting of breakfast foods varying from pancakes to an omelet.

"So Jack, you never told me how your meeting with the big bad Chief of Surgery went? Was it as brutal as you thought it'd be?" Kate asked as their food arrived.

"You could say that." Jack replied nonchalantly.

"Ohh, you have to tell me! C'mon Jack." Kate almost pleaded.

Jack rolled his eyes, but eventually gave in. "Ok Ok."

"So when I left you to go see him, he kinda tried to convince me to ditch the ICU in favor of surgery like I thought." Jack began.

"Well, what'd you say?" Kate asked, secretly hoping he'd rejected the offer.

"I told him no. I love working in the ICU with you. Every time we get through a night without losing anyone, the sense of pride and accomplishment I get is amazing. It's those nights that get me through the ones where…well…we do lose someone."

"That was the entire meeting? You got home like 2 hours after we talked, something else must have happened?" Kate asked, confused.

"Oh no, that was when he tried just about everything to convince me to go." Jack laughed.

"Like what?"

"Well first he tried to tell me that I'd go down as one of the hospital's greatest surgeons like my dad did when he retired. If anything, that hurt his chances of convincing me. So that didn't work." Jack began to explain.

Kate nodded in agreement at this. She knew Jack didn't have the best of relationship with his father, and had never truly gotten over how much of his childhood Christian had missed while drinking. He'd tried to reconcile with his father in the past few years, but it was always going to be a long, arduous process as Jack got his stubbornness from his father.

"Then he said that this surgical path was the beginning of the road to Chief of Medicine. But, as much as I'd love to be Chief of Medicine someday, I don't want to sacrifice what free time I have left to get there. So that didn't work either. But he had one last ace up his sleeve." Jack continued.

Kate laughed, knowing exactly how he felt. The ICU was a very time consuming place to work, especially on those nights you were on call. In their line of work, free time was very hard to come by.

"Then he offered me a raise. A _big _one." Jack finished.

"And you said yes?" Kate asked, sensing he had.

"No, I called him just before I left to come and get you and said I wasn't interested. He was kinda pissed off at first, but he told the offer was open if I reconsidered in the future." Jack said. "Remind me to talk to my dad about it over the weekend."

"Wait, you're actually going to consider your dad's opinion on this? I thought you guys still didn't get along very well." Kate asked disbelievingly.

"No, I'm not." Jack said flatly. "But he doesn't know that."

Kate laughed. "Well, that's good right? That he offered it to you in the future, I mean. If you wanna do it in a few months you still can." Kate said.

"Yea, I guess so. It would take something pretty drastic for me to change my mind though." Jack remarked.

Kate smiled. "That's my Jack. Stubborn as usual."

"So how about you, have any news of note to tell me about?" Jack asked, not expecting much to have happened since breakfast.

"Actually I do, and it's pretty big." Kate said.

"Oh yea? You got yourself a boyfriend, didn't you?" Jack said, happy for her.

"No. Way bigger than that." Kate said, still cryptic.

"Hmm…another promotion? Wait, you can't go higher than head nurse can you?" Jack tried again.

"Nope. That would be pretty big, but it's even bigger than that. It's going to change my entire summer." Kate quipped mysteriously.

"Alright, I give up. What is it?" Jack asked, thoroughly mystified.

"I'm going away." Kate said softly.

"You're going away? Like moving away?" Jack asked incredulously, almost immediately worried.

"No, no. The hospital is sending me to New York for some extra training. I'm going to be coming back, but I'll be out east for the whole summer." Kate explained, her heart panging because of the worry in Jack's voice.

"Oh." Jack barely mustered, breathing a sigh of relief. When he'd asked Kate if she had any news, he would never have expected something this big.

"Yea." Kate agreed softly.

"Yea." Jack repeated.

"You're OK with this, right?" Kate asked uneasily.

"Yea, Kate, I'm fine." Jack assured her. "But even if I wasn't, it's not like I have the right to tell you not to go. I mean you're my best friend, but that doesn't give me the right to choose how you spend your summers. If you want to go to New York, then you should do it, whether I want you to or not."

"That was the worst denial I've ever heard, Jack." Kate commented, hoping a joke would lift Jack's spirits.

Unfortunately, it had the exact opposite effect. It spurred Jack into stating how he truly felt about this trip. "Kate, what do you want me to say? I've just been told that my best friend is going away for the entire summer. Am I supposed to be happy about that?" Jack asked almost rhetorically.

"No, I guess not. But you still have Hurley, Sawyer, Charlie and Mark. It's not like you're going to be all alone. Right?" Kate said, defending herself, although she wasn't exactly sure she had to.

"Yea, but I'm not as close with any of them as I am with you and you know that." Jack retorted, temper flaring.

"Look, I'm sorry, Jack. But this is something I need to do for my career, OK? I'm sorry you're not happy about it, but I have to do this. You said it yourself, I don't need your approval to go." Kate apologized angrily.

"No, wait." Jack said, calming down, feeling bad for his sudden outburst. "I'm sorry I reacted like that Kate. You're right, I don't have the right to tell you not to go. You'll have a great time in New York; it's an amazing city. When do you leave?" Jack asked guiltily.

"Sunday morning."

Jack sighed. "That soon, huh?"

"Yea. I wanted to tell you this morning, but then you told me about your dad's thing on Saturday and I forgot all about it." Kate admitted, somewhat guiltily.

"It's alright." Jack said, checking his watch. "I'll get the check." Jack said, breaking their normal routine. Jack always insisted on paying the bill, but Kate would never let him, so Jack generally took care of the bill while Kate paid the tip. That way they were both satisfied, and it never felt awkward. But tonight he had a lot bigger things on his mind than who paid the bill. He'd apologized for his anger, but the truth was he felt like shit about the entire thing.

Jack quietly paid the bill, and they drove back to Kate's house in silence. About fifteen minutes later, they arrived at her house and she quickly got out of the car.

"Bye Jack, thanks for dinner." She said softly, not looking him directly in the eye, feeling guilty about not talking to him about the trip.

"It was no problem, Kate. Oh, and you don't have to come to the ceremony tomorrow night, it will give you some time to pack." Jack said throwing her a sad smile, resigning himself to defeat.

Kate desperately wanted to tell him that she still wanted go, despite leaving just the morning after. But before she had the chance, Jack looked down at the passenger seat, effectively ending the conversation.

She felt bad that Jack had to find out on such short notice, a fact that probably played a big part in his reaction. She obviously cared about Jack, and didn't want to damage their friendship over this trip. Seeing Jack look away from her hit her hard, and she shut the door slowly and walked off toward her apartment.

Jack reached home a short while later, and tossed himself onto the couch. He didn't know why Kate going to New York bothered him so much. He just knew that it did.

It was going to be a really long summer.

**A/N: Hope you liked it. Please LEAVE A REVIEW on the way out. All it takes is two clicks and typing a few words. I'd greatly appreciate it.**


	4. Surprise Appearance

**A/N: Hey guys, thanks for all the reviews from last chapter, I really appreciate them. Sorry for the longish update time, it's been (yet another) work week from hell. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please drop a review on the way out- even if it's only 1-2 words, they are all appreciated! Enjoy.**

**Chapter 4: Surprise Appearance**

Jack finished tying his tie about an hour before he was due at the hotel for the ceremony. He gave himself a quick look over to make sure he was presentable, and was reasonably satisfied. The check wasn't for him, as he wasn't out to impress anyone, but more for his mother and father who would be expecting he look his best.

Passing his own quick test, Jack grabbed his keys before glancing back over his apartment to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything. His eyes roamed over the modest room, eventually landing on his phone. He picked it up, taking a one last moment to debate whether to call Kate and apologize about his behavior last night.

Having had an entire night to think about it, he really felt horrible about the entire thing and he didn't want Kate to spend the entire summer not knowing he was sorry. If he was being completely honest with himself, _he_ didn't want to spend the entire summer with Kate not knowing he was sorry either.

Convincing himself, he dialed Kate's home number for what felt like the millionth time and waited patiently for an answer. An answer that never came.

Not to be dismayed, he tried her cell phone, and again was met with an answering machine. "Hi, it's Kate. Leave me a message and I'll call you back. Thanks."

Jack was still deciding what to say when he heard the beep to begin recording. Caught by surprise, he stuttered for few seconds getting his thoughts in order. "Uhh. Hey, Kate. It's me. Look, can we talk? I really want to apologize about last night. I uhh…well, just call me back." Jack finished, and hung up the phone, dragging himself out of his apartment.

Not a long time after that, Jack arrived at the hotel where his parent's vow renewal was taking place. A lot of the other couples that he knew participated in this picked a tropical spot every year, using the ceremony almost as an excuse to get away. But not the Shephard's, for them it was all about the ceremony and what it meant. But after the marital problems they'd been through, Jack couldn't really blame them.

The hospital and Christian's attachment to it had almost killed their marriage numerous times. The problems had been at their peak during Jack's pre-teen years, but they'd continued since then. It wasn't until Jack graduated from Columbia that Christian turned over a new leaf.

Walking into the hall, Jack looked around, faintly hoping for any sign of Kate. But, as he expected, she wasn't present. He'd basically told her he didn't want her to come, so he understood why she hadn't come. He just wished he could go back in time and change the way he reacted to her news. He wished he could go back in time and un-uninvite her.

He spotted his mom talking to some friends from her Book club, but he couldn't see his father. He knew better than to interrupt his mother when she was with her friends as it always ended in some embarrassing story about his childhood, so Jack headed over to the bar to grab a drink.

He'd already downed a beer when he saw his father enter the room talking to a short blonde woman holding a baby. A short blonde woman? No. It couldn't be. Could it?

Interest peaked, Jack left the bar and headed over to his father, as he got closer to the pair, the woman's identity was confirmed.

It was his sister, Claire.

"Claire? Is it really you?" Jack asked in disbelief.

"Jack!" Claire screamed, hugging her brother, taking care not to get her child caught between them. Jack looked over her shoulder, and nodded softly, greeting his father who returned the gesture before heading off to mingle with the guests.

"What are you doing here? I haven't seen you in ages." Jack asked.

"Well, let's just say I could've thought through my life plan a little more." Claire replied, still touchy about the subject.

"Oh? So Sydney didn't work out?" Jack asked, treading ground carefully.

"Not so much Sydney, but Thomas." Claire remarked sadly.

"Claire, I'm sorry." Jack consoled.

"Don't be. I'm over it. Actually, that's why I'm here. To start over." Claire said.

"I know I'm not exactly one to give advice on this subject, but a vow renewal not exactly the place to come to get over a breakup is it?" Jack joked.

Claire hit him playfully on the arm. "Shut up Jack, and no you aren't. I'm not_ here _to start again. I'm moving back to California." Claire explained.

"That's great, have you found a place to stay?"

"Not yet, but Dad said I could stay with them until I got back on my feet." Claire said, causing Jack to shake his head.

"You sure you wanna do that? Stay with mom and dad? Wasn't the first time enough fun?" Jack said.

"Yea, well I don't exactly have that many options do I, Jack? Beggars can't be choosers." Claire remarked.

"You can stay with me if you want." Jack blurted out.

"What?" Claire asked.

"Yea. I've got a decent sized apartment, I'd like to think I'm slightly more fun than mom and dad, and I'd love to have you stay with me." Jack explained.

"I don't know Jack, I'd probably just get in the way."

"I don't think that's possible, Claire."

"Well, aren't you seeing someone? That's what Dad said." Claire asked.

"No, I don't know what made him say that. The hospital doesn't really make for a huge social life. I consider myself lucky to have the friends I do." Jack said.

"I'm not sure, Jack. Let me think about it?" Claire reasoned.

"Yea, no problem. Just let me know when you make your decision. I'll be in that area all night if you need me." Jack said, pointing towards the bar.

"Ok, thanks a lot Jack. It was nice to see you again. I'm going to see if I know _anyone_ here, so I'll see you around."

"Yep, have fun." Jack almost chided, believing it impossible, before making his way back to the bar.

Two drinks later, Jack was still thinking about Claire's sudden return. What exactly had gone wrong with Thomas? She wasn't very specific, but Jack swore if Thomas had hurt her, he'd be on the next available plane to Australia to make him wish he hadn't.

"I was surprised too, son." Jack's thoughts were interrupted by his father's voice from behind him.

"Hmm?" Jack said, turning his attentions to his father.

"Claire. I was surprised when she called us. I didn't think she was coming back." Christian explained.

"Yea, I didn't think I'd see her again for a long time. But I'm really happy she's back. It's nice to see her." Jack agreed.

"Yes, it is. You seem to pick up right where you left off." Christian noted.

"Yea, I guess we were always kinda close."

"Well, that's definitely true. So how are you doing, Jack? We haven't spoken in a while." Christian asked.

"Not bad, got a surgical offer at the hospital, but I don't think I'm going to take it." Jack answered, bracing himself for an onslaught of his father's advice.

But instead, his father just nodded. "Well, it's your decision, Jack. Whatever you think is best for you. I'm not going to push you in to anything." Christian said, surprising Jack. Where was the yelling, the 'I know what's best for you' speech? What was going on?

"Speaking of you, Jack. Where's your girlfriend? I thought you said she was going to be coming with you?" Christian asked, truly interested.

"My girlfriend?" Jack repeated questioningly, "Claire said you mentioned I was seeing someone, who are you talking about?"

"That brunette woman. The one you're always hanging out with, you're practically inseparable." Christian stated.

"Kate? No, Dad, she's not my girlfriend. We're just friends- good friends- but just friends." Jack assured him.

"Damn. That's to bad son." Christian quipped, not looking at Jack, but over his left shoulder at the door.

"What are you looking—" Jack said as he turned around, but he was unable to finish the thought.

Kate had just walked in wearing a thigh-length green dress, almost the very same color as her Emerald eyes. She looked absolutely gorgeous. Jack's jaw visibly dropped.

Christian had noticed Jack's reaction as well, muttering "Friends my ass." before taking another sip of his drink and turning back to the bar.

Jack ignored his father, immediately getting up and walking over to Kate.

"Kate? What are you doing here?" Jack asked, still in awe of her beauty.

"It's nice to see you too, Jack." Kate joked, smiling at him.

"Sorry, I know that came out wrong. I mean I'm really glad you're here, I just didn't think you would after how I acted last night." Jack returned the smile shyly.

"Look Jack. Last night wasn't your finest hour, but I have to admit that I didn't help things either. It's going to take more than one night to tear us apart." Kate explained.

"What made you come? Did you get my message?" Jack asked.

"I saw I had one from you, but I deleted it." Kate said softly.

"Why?" Jack asked in bewilderment.

"Because. I already knew what you were going to say, and I was always coming anyway. I figured I'd save you the embarrassment of an awkward message." Kate joked with a glint in her eyes.

"You could have told me that last night, Kate. That would've been better."

"Yea, well, at the time I was still mad at you for what you said."

"I guess I deserved that." Jack admitted, shrugging. "Do you want to go get a drink? This time I have big news."

"What, are you coming with me?" Kate asked mockingly as they walked towards the bar.

"What? No—do you want me to?" Jack ventured curiously.

"Of course I do Jack, it's just—" Kate answered.

"You know what. It doesn't matter. This is your trip; this is your summer. We'll have some fun tonight and then you head east. What happens after that, well we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Jack interrupted her, apprehensive of rejection.

"Sounds like a plan." Kate said, sitting down as they arrived at the bar. "So what's this big news?"

"Claire's back." Jack stated simply.

"What!? Claire!? Where is she!?" Kate almost shrieked, turning heads in almost a quarter of the hall. Unfortunately, it wasn't the quarter that Claire was currently occupying. "I've missed her so much. She was like my little sister." Kate said, much more quietly.

Jack turned his head, surveying the room for any sign of his sister with no luck. Instead, he found a different blonde head. Slightly taller and slightly older he recognized the face immediately.

"There she is. I'll be right back Jack." Kate said, taking off towards Claire. Momentarily glancing at Kate as she walked towards Claire he checked back to see the blonde heading straight for him. He took a long drink from his beer and prepared for the worst.

"Jack? Fancy seeing you here. What are you doing here?" Jack's ex-girlfriend, Sarah, greeted him.

Sarah was the epitome of everything Jack hated in a woman. She was born into wealth, and flaunted it incessantly, as well being uncaring and inconsiderate to anyone outside of her self-proclaimed class. She hadn't taken it well when Jack had broken up with her, and it had only made matters worse when he told her the reason.

If it weren't for the fact that Sarah already despised Kate before the break-up, Jack would've have been somewhat worried Sarah would let slip to Kate. Thankfully, she had not.

"You know Christian? And Margot? They're my parents." Jack said sarcastically, causing Sarah to emit the pretentious laugh he had come to hate so much.

"So, Jack." Sarah continued, ignoring his previous remark. "Are you seeing anyone at the moment?" _Straight and to the point, _Jack thought. _Why'd she have to be the clingy, pining type?_

"Actually, I am." Jack stated bluntly, no further elaboration needed.

"Oh, who?" Sarah asked, faking innocence. Luckily, Jack had figured she'd play this card, and had a plan formulated in his mind.

"Why don't you find a seat around here, I'll go get her and we can talk. I've told her so much about you." Jack said. It wasn't a lie, Kate already knew a lot about Sarah. They just weren't nice things.

"Ok." Sarah replied dryly, suddenly less interested, and Jack walked off to find Kate.

It wasn't long before he found her talking to his sister. They seemed to really be enjoying each other's company, but Jack's safety was at stake here.

Both women saw him approaching and momentarily stopped their conversation to greet him.

"Hey, Jack." They said almost simultaneously.

"Hey, Claire? Can I talk to Kate a moment?" Jack asked, and Claire nodded, not moving from her spot. "In private?" Jack added, causing Claire to smile and turn away.

"Look, I need your help, Kate. Sarah's here. I don't know who invited her, but she is." Jack spoke almost desperately.

"Wait. Sarah…stuck up Sarah?" Kate asked.

"That's the one. Look, she's still in to me and I kinda said something to get her to back off." Jack began to explain, and Kate's eyebrows raised slightly.

"What did you say?" Kate asked.

"I kinda told her I was seeing someone. Do you see where I'm going with this?" Jack asked hopefully.

"Yea." Kate said through a grin. She had always loathed Sarah. Suffice it to say, they _did not_ get along. "So what do we need to do?"

"It's pretty easy, really. I told her to grab a table we just have to—shit." Jack said, seeing Sarah staring at them from behind Kate. The look on her face told him exactly what he'd feared.

Sarah knew all about Jack and Kate's friendship, and all the baggage that came with that revelation. She knew they had basically promised each other they would never become anything more than friends; a fact which made Sarah all the more angrier when she learned Kate was the woman she was dumped for.

"Kate."

"Jack?" Kate replied, looking up at him.

"Please don't hate me for doing this." Jack said, and brought his lips quickly down to hers.

The moment he did so, all kinds of thoughts were running through Jack's head. Was it the right thing to do? Would Kate kiss him back? Did he just jeopardize their entire friendship? Curiously, the last thing on his mind was Sarah's acceptance of the 'ruse'.

For a few seconds, Kate stood motionless, unable to respond through shock. When she realized what was happening though, and who was kissing her, she responded immediately, wrapping her arms slowly around Jack's neck.

It was just the relief that Jack needed, and, empowered by the fact that Kate was kissing him back, intensified the kiss. Tongue met tongue, and electricity shot through Jack like a lightning bolt. His hands encircled Kate's waist, pulling her even closer to him.

All to soon, Kate pulled back from the kiss. Jack looked first to her, then around the room. As far as he could tell, only one person had seen their moment of intimacy- and she was storming out the front door.

Relieved, Jack looked back to Kate to attempt to explain what he'd just done, but he couldn't. She was gone.

Across the room, the one other person who had seen the kiss, muttered to herself, "Friends my ass, Kate."

**A/N: That's it for now. Hope you enjoyed it, and please REVIEW and tell you what you did/didn't like. Even 1-2 words is greatly appreciated.**

**Coming Up: The direct aftermath of the kiss.**


	5. Drenched

**A/N: Hello again. Thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter- please, keep them coming. Positive or Negative, I'd like to know any ways I can improve my stories. Anyway, I have just finished a relatively detailed outline of where this story is going to go and I'm satisfied (but I am still VERY OPEN to suggestions you may have). If all goes according to plan, it should end up being around 20 chapters in length. From now until the climax of the story it's going to be a lot of angst and hopefully some angsty fluff. I apologize for the shortness of this chapter but I promise the next few chapters will be longer. Anyway, I hope you like this one.**

**Chapter 5: Drenched**

All to soon, Kate pulled back from the kiss. Jack looked first to her, then around the room. As far as he could tell, only one person had seen their moment of intimacy- and she was storming out the front door.

Relieved, Jack looked back to Kate to attempt to explain what he'd just done, but he couldn't. She was gone.

Years ago, Jack would have turned around, dropped his head, and wallowed in his own self pity by admitting defeat. But he'd made this particular mistake to many times in the past. He wouldn't let himself make it again. This would be the day he finally stood up and made Kate know how he felt.

This time, Jack looked up and scanned the room, starting at the exit. Seeing the back of a green dress almost running out of the door, Jack immediately set off towards it.

He reached the door in what must have been record time, and immediately veered left after the figure he'd seen exit the banquet hall. This time though he didn't see Kate in the lobby, but the front door to the hotel was still swinging closed and Jack presumed it was Kate's doing. Wasting no time at all, Jack made a bolt for the door. He'd almost made it halfway across the room when the power to the entire hotel went out. _Shit, what the hell's going on here?_

He couldn't let it faze him. This was his chance to finally tell Kate how much she meant to him. This was his chance to do what he couldn't do before. This was his chance to fix what he'd done all those years ago in college. This was the point of no return.

Upon reaching the front door, it was easy to see why the power had gone out. It was pouring rain outside, but sure enough he could see Kate at the side of the road attempting to hail a cab as fast as possible.

"Kate!" Jack yelled as he made his way over to her, attempting to yell over the deafening thunder and rain, but failing.

He kept running.

"Kate!" He tried again, and thankfully this time he got through. She turned around momentarily, searching for the source of the voice, but once she saw Jack she faced forward again immediately seemingly in more of a hurry than she had been before.

"Kate, wait!" Jack yelled one more time. He was now within twenty yards of her when he saw the cab pulling up. His window of opportunity was running out.

Kate made her way towards the cab as quickly as she could, but was pulled back into the pouring rain by a strong pair of arms just before she made it inside to the dry safety of the cab.

"Kate, what the hell are you doing out here? What happened to you in there?" Jack asked with a mixture of concern and curiosity. He knew it wasn't the best idea he'd had to kiss her, but it was the only way to get Sarah to leave wasn't it? But was that why he'd kissed Kate, or was it because it _was_ Kate? If he asked himself truthfully, he knew the answer.

"I'm sorry." She said sadly, choking back tears, as she turned around and headed back towards her ride home, her ride away from Jack.

"Are you?" Jack questioned angrily.

"Yea, I'm sorry." Kate shot back venomously, turning on him once more. "I'm sorry that I'm not as perfect as you, I'm sorry that I'm not as good." She yelled bringing her face to within inches of his. She was so close that Jack could almost see the fire in her emerald eyes. He knew he'd brought this upon himself, and he instantly regretted it. He hadn't meant to say something so harsh to her; he was only trying to keep her with him until he could explain everything.

"What's going on you with you?" He asked in response, trying not to show the pain he felt at being verbally abused like that. It wasn't the words she'd said, but the way she'd said them. It felt as she resented him for attempting to be the best person he could. In any case, in Jack's eyes, Kate trumped him in both categories.

"Just forget it." Kate dismissed him, trying once again to get in the cab.

"Hey" Jack whispered grabbing her wrist once again to stop her from leaving. Not tightly enough to hurt her, but tightly enough to tell her he didn't want her leaving just yet.

"Let go of me." Kate frantically replied as she struggled to break free from Jack's grasp, but Jack didn't falter, instead pulling her closer to him, trapping her against his chest. "Don't!! Let me go!" She cried, hitting his chest and continuing to struggle free.

Eventually though, she realized Jack's superior strength was to much for her, and began to ease her struggles. But now, the sobbing was uncontrollable.

"It's ok." Jack cooed as she began to cry against his chest. "It's ok."

"It's just… this is all crazy. I just can't do it, and it's driving me nuts." Kate choked out, settling back into Jack's chest.

"It's ok. It's ok." Jack continued to repeat. It was all he could do to ease her worries right now. The rest she had to accomplish on her own.

He'd imagined this conversation going a little bit differently like it always did in the movies. The woman of the man's affections runs out into the rain, said man follows, and then comes the magical kiss in the rain. But this wasn't the movies, who was he kidding?

The only important thing now was Kate's well being. If Jack got the chance to pour his heart out to her he would, but it was now second on the agenda.

Kate sobbed once more, rising to look once more at Jack. He looked into her eyes, red and puffy from crying, the green in them had now lost their fire, and Jack thought that even in her broken, distressed state. She'd never looked more beautiful.

Kate looked back at him, his eyes comforting and accepting. Her gaze flickered from his eyes, to his chest, back to his eyes, and finally to his lips.

_This is it, _Jack told himself. She does feel the same way, and she can't keep it bottled up anymore. Kate's eyes once again set upon his lips, but then ever so slowly dropped back down to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Jack." She said, his eyes not leaving his as she back away towards the cab.

Jack opened his mouth to speak, to say anything to get her to come back, to turn around, but the words weren't forthcoming. All he could do was watch heartbrokenly as Kate entered the cab.

Jack looked on as the cab sped away from the curb. In the back seat he could Kate still crying as she gazed back at him through the window.

Jack's eyes didn't leave her cab until his view was completely obscured by the pounding rain and descending fog. He stood there, in the torrential downpour, berating himself for once again missing his chance. Not only had he told Kate absolutely nothing, but he hadn't managed to make her feel any better about the chain of events which had lead them there.

Jack just stood there, next to the curb, his feet unable to move and his eyes unable to tear themselves from the spot where Kate's cab had disappeared from his view, just thinking.

Just, it wasn't the weather that was bothering him.

**A/N: Again, I'm sorry about the length, but I tried to pack as much emotion into the chapter as possible. I felt this moment was as good an ending point as any. Please leave a review, it's only a few clicks and keystrokes. :D**

**Coming Up: Poker night with the boys.**


	6. Attempting to Cope

**A/N: Hello again. Thank you for all the reviews for the last chapter, I'm sorry it was so short. We're finally getting to the meat of the story now, I wanted to include the backstory instead of just dropping you all into the action. Updates may slow down a little until mid-August as works been heavy and my computer's been acting up a bit, but I'll do my best to keep updates as frequent as I can (of course, reviews would help me ...alot :D)**

**Anyway, here's Chapter 6. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 6: Attempting to Cope**

"Bring it on, Jack!" Mark taunted him, slightly lifting his basketball shorts, half in an effort to intimidate Jack, who was the superior basketball player, and half to get himself ready to stick with Jack when he made his move.

"You sure you're ready for this, Mark?" Jack responded in kind.

"You bet I—" Mark replied, but didn't get to finish his sentence.

Jack dribbled past Mark's left-hand side, his weaker side, with lightning pace and Mark had to literally eat his words in order to stick with him. Mark stuck his hand out in front of Jack's chest in order to slow his movement toward the basket, and it was definitely slowing him down.

Mark was nearing his full speed when he no longer felt Jack's sweaty t-shirt on his arm. Looking away from the basket and back to where Jack should have been, he saw no one. Turning instinctively to the right, back where they had come from, Mark saw Jack grinning, and to his horror, pulling up for a jump shot.

Mark did all he could to recover and get out to challenge the shot in time, but it was no use. He managed to jump but Jack, the taller of the pair, easily got his shot in over his hand.

Mark watched with the faintest of hopes that Jack would miss the shot, before realizing that Jack had taken off from the free-throw line- his favorite shot. Whatever nervousness Mark was feeling about the shot, Jack's was double. He watched the shot arc up, almost perfectly, the spin on the ball end-over-end as he'd hoped.

Jack could've sworn time had effectively slowed down while his attempt was airborne, but relief and pride flooded through him when the shot passed through the net without hitting the rim.

Jack threw his arms in the air in celebration quickly, before heading back to Mark's position, where his friend and opponent was doubled over, recovering from the exertion they had both endured.

"Correct me if I'm wrong Mark, but isn't that game?" Jack chided, smiling relatively happily.

"Yea, yea, yea, Jack. I get it- you win. Double or nothing?" Mark asked, eager to win his money back- well, eager to win his losing's back.

"Why not? I got about an hour before my shift. What better way to spend it than earning another Benjamin." Jack joked, causing Mark to glare at him.

"Oh, it is so on, Shephard. Prepare yourself, Silverman is coming for you." He said, poking Jack in the chest on his way back to the three-point arc to begin the game.

"One more?" Mark asked, once again doubled over on the free-throw line only thirty minutes later. "I got even closer that time. I actually had the ball at game point."

"Yea, and can you tell me what happened that particular possession?" Jack said, clearly enjoying this. He hadn't had this much fun in…well weeks- three of them to be exact.

"You blocked my shot so bad that I'm going to have nightmares about it." Mark confessed defeteadly.

"Exactly." Jack responded simply.

"So how bout it Shephard, double or nothing one more time?" Mark almost pleaded in a last ditch attempt to keep Jack at the gym.

"Sorry man, as much as I'd love to take $400 off you, I have a shift to get to. I'll see you round." Jack said as he mad his way over to the padded wall to grab a drink of water.

"Alright, alright. I think I'll just stay here and uhh, practice my free throws." Mark suggested glumly.

"You do that. I'll see you." Jack said as he made his way to the gym's locker room to shower and get ready for work.

"Oh. I almost forgot. The guys are coming over Friday night to play some poker. You in?" Mark asked.

Jack was momentarily surprised. They had stopped inviting him to their poker nights months ago for two reasons. First, he had wiped the floor with all of them three Friday's in a row, but recently he'd been unavailable. He was always with Kate on Friday nights, and despite Mark and Hurley's persistent moaning about the fact that Jack needed to either 'shit or get off the pot' with Kate, they had eventually given in to that fact.

"Why are you suddenly inviting me again? Sawyer need to be put back in his place or something?" Jack half joked, but still curious.

"Yea, something like that." Mark said as Jack walked back toward him, closing the distance extremely quickly.

"Mark." Jack said softly but sternly, indicating he saw straight through his poor attempt at a lie.

"Look man, you've been in a slump the past three weeks. It's obvious. I've noticed it, Hurley noticed it, hell, even Sawyer's noticed it. I can't say I know how you feel, but I feel bad for you man. I mean, you loved her, even if you didn't think so, and now she's gone for almost 3 months. We figured you needed some other way to cope, even if that's at the expense of our pockets." Mark explained.

"I don't love Kate. I never did. I just had a thing for her once." Jack vehemently denied. But even he could hear the slight waiver in his voice.

"Once, Jack? Am I really going to have to rattle off all the times you've had a thing for Kate? Because I'm pretty sure you'd miss your entire shift, and I wasn't even there for high school."

"I'm not in love with Kate." Jack insisted, more for his benefit than Mark's.

"Look. There will come a day when you finally realize that you do. When that day comes, you know you can always come talk to me about it. Loving someone who doesn't feel the same way? Not wanting to jeopardize what you've got? That is one thing I can empathize with. But until then, you just need to have a little fun. So what d'ya say?" Mark asked.

"Friday night?" Jack asked by way of confirmation.

"Friday night." Mark affirmed, face brightening up quickly.

"Your place?" Jack asked one more question.

"My place." Mark confirmed once more, before returning to his free throws.

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"Ugh." Jack groaned as he was dealt his cards- a two and a seven, off suit. Either he had totally lost all of his poker skills in the few short months since he'd played or he'd had horrible luck the entire night. He was going with the latter.

"What Jack-o, your luck finally run out? 'Bout time if ya ask me." Sawyer remarked sarcastically.

"Don't get to cocky Sawyer. You may be winning now, but I'm not out yet." Jack said coolly. He knew he'd made a mistake voicing his displeasure at his cards, and now he was trying to rectify that situation.

"Doc. I got ten times the amount of chips you do. You know what, enough talking. I'm gonna show you how I'm gonna beat you." Sawyer said, before returning to his cards, a sly grin appearing on his face.

Mark who was dealing this hand, turned to Hurley. "You're move Hurley. Check or bet."

Hurley tapped his hand on the table, the universal sign for 'check' and so Mark moved one down the order to Sawyer, who was sitting across from Jack at the table.

"Sawyer?"

"I'll bet. Two hundred." Sawyer stated clearly, for Jack's benefit, before looking up and smirking in his direction.

"Charlie?" Mark moved on, ignoring the increasing competitiveness between Sawyer and Jack.

"Fold."

"Jack."

Jack was torn as to what to do. He was fairly certain that Sawyer didn't have any cards of extreme value and was only betting to prove his wealth in the game. But then again, Jack had one of the worst hands possible, and so did the only thing he could without risking going bust.

"I fold." Jack resigned, causing Sawyer to stifle a laugh.

The next few hands went slightly better, but Sawyer was still on top, but just barely, they had an almost even amount of chips. Mark, Hurley and Charlie had all run out of chips and were sitting in the other room watching TV while Sawyer and Jack finished their game.

This hand, Jack had the nine of spades and the Jack of hearts. The flop was the nine of clubs, the Ace of hearts, and the King of spades. This had helped Jack slightly, pairing his nine, but since he didn't know what Sawyer had, he wasn't sure if it would be enough. The turn didn't help his cause much either, turning out to be a five of hearts. Jack would have to rely on the river card, which Sawyer would turn over momentarily.

No help either- the ten of spades.

"Alright Amarillo Slim, what's your bet?" Sawyer asked, not giving away anything. Jack was in his head, it killed him that he couldn't figure out how he could possibly have stayed in the game so long, considering just a few hands ago the blind had forced him all in.

"Ten." Jack replied curtly.

"Ok. I'll see your ten and raise you twenty." Sawyer informed him, once again flexing his superior amount of chips.

"Didn't think I'd do that did ya? Beginners luck damn near gone now I bet." Sawyer said, laughing at his own joke. Jack chuckled in return, but more to keep Sawyer on his toes than finding his remark in any way funny.

"I'm all in." Jack said, laughter drained from his features. The stone-walled game face had returned.

Sawyer, sensing blood, was quick in response. "Now that's a move of a man who wants me to lay it down."

"You're not gonna lay it down." Jack responded surely.

"I'm not huh? Why's that?" Sawyer jibed.

Jack leaned in slightly closer, "Because Mark, Hurley and Charlie are all standing in the doorway, just watching, and you don't want them to see you get beat by the guy who didn't have any chips ten minutes ago." Jack responded, he could sense he was getting to Sawyer now. Hopefully this last-ditch attempt to get in Sawyer's head and make him play Jack's hand instead of his own would work.

"Well alright then. I call." Sawyer said, causing Jack to nod with satisfaction. "Whatcha got?"

Jack shuffled the pair of cards forward and back a few times, before laying them on the table, causing Sawyer to yell in disbelief.

"A pair of nines? You pushed in with a pair of nines?!" Sawyer said disbelievingly.

"You caught me. Let's see 'em." Jack replied, steeling his nerves for the pivotal moment of his plan. The moment where he'd discover if he was successful.

Sawyer groaned before flipping over his own hand, the five of diamonds and four of hearts, giving him a pair of fives.

Jack smiled victoriously. "Guess it was enough huh?" He said, getting up from the table and heading over to Mark, it was getting late, and Jack had a shift in the morning.

"Son of a bitch." Sawyer muttered, staring menacingly at Mark's table and the losing hand that still lay upon it, causing Jack to smirk from his position.

"So, buddy, who ended up winning?" Mark asked, feigning oblivion, as Jack approached their position in the living room.

"Mark, I saw you guys, don't act like you don't know." Jack said lightly.

"Fair enough." Mark responded, but Charlie and Hurley were excited.

"That was awesome, dude! How did you do that?! I've been trying to beat Sawyer at this damn game for months!" Hurley shouted.

"I honestly don't know." Jack said as his phone began to ring. It was almost midnight, so it must have been the hospital calling about his shift. Knowing his luck, they probably needed him to come in early.

Jack lifted the phone to his ear sadly without checking the caller ID, not wanting to hear the interim head nurse's voice giving him the news that he'd have to forego yet another night of sleep.

He despised the new head nurse. She was as cold-hearted as they come. Sure, she was good at her job, but she lacked the compassion of the rest of the staff in the wing. He'd often tried to tell himself she wasn't so bad, that he was only comparing her to Kate. But that didn't help, all it did was put Kate back on his mind. _Just answer the damn phone Jack._

"Hello?" Jack asked, bracing himself for the high-pitched squeal that would say something along the lines of: "Dr. Shephard, we need you to come in at midnight."

But it never came.

"Jack?" Came the voice from the other line.

"Kate?"

**A/N: I hope you liked it. If you did, please drop a review. If you didn't...well, please do it anyway, even if it's only a few words. They all help me keep writing!**

**Coming up: Isn't it obvious? :P**


	7. Not Anymore

**A/N: Wow, I'm really sorry about how long it's been in between updates. Work combined with getting ready to move has made life pretty hectic. It should all get back to normal in the next few weeks so hopefully the updates will come faster. I want to thank you all for the reviews for last chapter, and sticking with the story. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much.**

**Chapter 7: Not Anymore**

Jack lifted the phone to his ear sadly without checking the caller ID, not wanting to hear the interim head nurse's voice giving him the news that he'd have to forego yet another night of sleep.

He despised the new head nurse. She was as cold-hearted as they come. Sure, she was good at her job, but she lacked the compassion of the rest of the staff in the wing; she was like a robot. He'd often tried to tell himself that she wasn't so bad, that he was only comparing her to Kate. But that didn't help; all it did was put Kate back on his mind. _Just answer the damn phone Jack._

"Hello?" Jack asked, bracing himself for the high-pitched squeal that would say something along the lines of: "Dr. Shephard, we need you to come in at midnight."

But it never came.

"Jack?" Came the feminine voice from the other line.

"Kate?" Jack asked in disbelief. "Is that you?" He figured after the first three weeks of not contacting him, that she was deadly serious about this being 'her' summer. She hadn't wanted him to get in the way when they'd talked about it at the party, and she sure as hell hadn't wanted to talk to him after what happened that night inside, and then again just minutes later in the pouring rain.

"Yea, Jack. It's me." Kate replied, relief emanating from her voice.

Jack momentarily covered the phone's speaker with his hand. "I'm gonna head out to the balcony guys, I'll be back in a few."

"You take as much time as you need, dude." Hurley was first to respond.

"Yea, man, do what you need to do. We'll be here." Mark agreed.

Jack chuckled slightly, "Alright guys, I'll be right back." Jack said as he made his way through the apartment and out the door towards Mark's balcony.

He walked outside to the small balcony that overlooked Los Angeles, which was a mere 42 stories down. At this time of night the city really was picturesque. The 'Hollywood' sign could easily be seen through some of the shorter buildings, and the hustle and bustle of the LA nightlife down below was a sight to behold.

"What's up, Kate?" Jack asked politely, no hint of nervousness or annoyance in his voice. As soon as the words had left his mouth, he regretted them. He hadn't talked to Kate in three weeks, and all he can ask is 'what's up?'.

"What's up, Jack? I haven't talked to you for three weeks, I'm calling you in the middle of the night, and all you can say is what's up?" Kate replied, showing more frustration than she had meant to, when she had no reason to be, and she immediately regretted her outburst.

The truth was that she'd had a relatively miserable three weeks and she desperately needed to talk. But not just to anyone; she needed to hear Jack's voice, to hear his encouraging words. She shouldn't have expected him to have realized this immediately, because after all, she was the one who had been out of contact for three weeks, all he was trying to do was be polite and friendly.

"I figured you had your reasons, and do you really have the right to tell me I should be mad? I didn't call you out of respect for your wishes." Jack voice began to rise, causing him to close the door behind him. He didn't want the guys hearing this conversation; he wasn't sure how it was going to go and either way he wanted to keep it between himself and Kate.

"My wishes? What the hell are you talking about, Jack?" Kate asked, calming down upon hearing Jack's motive for not calling. She hadn't truly expected him to call after the way she'd acted _that_ night, but she was upset he hadn't proved her wrong.

"Look. When you told me the first time, you said 'you had to do this' and 'your summer', which kinda told me it was a solo thing. Sure, I've missed the time we could've spent together this summer, but well…you're having fun, so that's all that matters right?" Jack explained.

"Jack. Jack, listen to me, I miss spending time with you too, don't you ever think I don't. Yes, it's something I thought I'd have to do on my own, but not because I wanted to be away from you. Hell, if the hospital offered me a course in California I would've taken it, but they didn't." Kate retorted. This was good. This was definitely an improvement on the silence that had filled the previous twenty-one days. They were talking.

"Look, whatever your reason, you just seemed like you needed some alone time. Then I made matters worse by kissing you at the party, and then the whole thing outside in the rain. I figured you had a right to not want to talk to me. I never expected you to call, but I hoped you would everyday." Jack said, calming himself.

Kate instantly felt horrible for yelling at Jack for not calling. They were very close friends, but he had no duty to call her and check on her every night; they weren't together. That coupled with the way she'd reacted to him that night three weeks ago probably would have given him the impression she didn't want to speak to him until she returned, if at all. _If he only knew…_

"I'm sorry Jack." She spoke softly. So softly that he barely heard her voice over the phone. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, I wasn't thinking. It's just it's been kind of boring here and I can't sleep, I dunno why, it's weird." Kate lied, she had an idea why she was bored, she just wasn't going to tell Jack.

"Boring? Kate, aren't you in New York City?" Jack laughed.

"Yea, I know. Crazy right? I guess some things aren't as fun with a group of women. I don't know Jack, I said it was weird didn't I?" Kate said, looking for assurance.

"Yea, I guess you did." Jack said softly, recalling her words. He thought about their short conversation tonight, and those brief tension-filled ones before her departure and said, "Listen Kate. For the next 2 months, I want you to forget about me. Well, not really, but almost. I want you to have fun, even if you are going out with a group of women."

He instantly regretted it.

He wasn't sure why'd he just said that. It was ludicrous. In fact, there were a few things he really wanted to say to Kate, but 'go get drunk and forget about me' was curiously not on the list. But it was out now, and it was to late to turn back.

"What?" Kate asked, incredulous._ Is he serious? This is the first time we've talked in what feels like forever and he's pushing me away after five minutes? Pushing me away doesn't even begin to describe it, more like throwing me off a cliff._

"You heard me. Go out and get drunk, go see the Knicks play, climb the Statue of Liberty, visit the Jersey Shore. Hell, I don't know, see Springsteen in concert. Just have fun." Jack said assuredly, even though his mind was anything but.

"Why, Jack? Do you not want to talk to me anymore?" Kate accused, hurt at his suggestion.

"No, it's anything but that Kate, trust me. You just told me New York City was boring. That isn't possible. You need to have fun while you're there. Don't think about what I'm doing, or not doing, just have fun." Jack reworded his answer, still cursing himself for suggesting Kate forget about him.

"What about you?" Kate asked with concern.

"What about me?" Jack asked suddenly confused.

"What are you gonna do?" Kate repeated.

"I'll be fine. I've been playing basketball with Mark, and they finally started inviting me to poker night again. Plus, Claire decided to move in with me, so I have someone else to talk to while you're in New York." Jack defended himself.

"Ok, Jack." Kate resigned.

"Promise me, Kate." Jack said.

"Promise, Jack." Kate replied.

"And Kate?" Jack added as an afterthought.

"Yea, Jack?" Kate answered.

"If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always here for you- even if you're 3000 miles away. Don't forget that." Jack assured her.

"OK, Jack. I'll talk to you soon." Kate said. _That's it? See you in three months. Oh, but if you really have to, it's Ok to call. _

"Bye, Kate. Remember what I said." Jack said as he pressed the 'end' button his phone to disconnect the call. The rest of this summer was going to pass extremely slowly. He was missing Kate already, he was just too weak to tell her that. _My dad was right; I just don't have what it takes._

He put his phone into his pocket and stared out into the clear LA night. Jack was so deep in thought about Kate and his most recent screw-up that he failed to notice the bolts of lightning crashing vividly down in the distance. A bolt could have hit the building across from him and he may not have noticed it. His mind was so absorbed with Kate that at this moment, nothing else mattered.

He couldn't believe he'd actually told her to forget about him. What the hell had he been thinking? He needed his best friend back; he needed everything about her.

He missed the way she smiled.

He missed the way she laughed at all of his bad jokes.

He missed the way she was always there for him after a bad day.

He missed the way her lips felt on his.

But most of all, he missed the way he felt when their bodies lay together, her back leaning against his chest. It was a feeling he'd only experienced once, but it was a feeling he was sure he'd never forget.

It was then that Jack realized that he didn't miss those things about Kate, he didn't even like those things about Kate. He _loved_ those things about Kate. This wasn't just a thing he had for her- a crush, a boyish attraction- he loved Kate. He truly loved her. He'd either just been to blind to see it, and to stubborn to admit it.

Jack leaned against the balcony, arms resting on the railing as he gazed back out and into the city of Los Angeles. Upon coming to this realization his head almost fell into his hands, and Jack just stood there, head in hands, replaying their conversation in his mind.

Should he call back? No, he couldn't do that. Not after he'd just told her to go out and have fun, and to stop moping around her apartment. _That would look great._

He could fight back the feelings; push them down, he'd done it for all these years, albeit now he could truly admit to himself he loved her. But then again, he wasn't sure he wanted to.

"It looks like we finally need to have that talk." Mark said from the doorway to the balcony.

"Not now, Mark." Jack tried to get him to leave, but his friend would have none of it.

"I told you we were going to have this talk when you finally figured out you love her, and here we are, barely a week later. I know from personal experience, that this will eat at you for a long time, until you finally get it out." Mark said comfortingly.

Jack turned around momentarily, staring once again out into the Los Angeles night, before turning back around and asking himself why he was about to talk to Mark about something he couldn't even fully comprehend yet. "Can you shut the door, I don't feel like giving Sawyer more ammunition for his jokes." Jack requested.

"Don't worry about it, Jack. They all left a few minutes ago, the games a blowout anyway. I was going to tell you, but well I didn't want to interrupt." Mark explained, but shut the door anyway. "So. We gonna talk?"

"Right. Well how'd you deal with it?" Jack asked, truly looking for help.

"Deal with it? Jack, I hate to get all philosophical on you, but what you're feeling right now… it's a blessing, not a burden." Mark said.

"Spare me, Mark. What did you do- when you realized, I mean?" Jack replied curtly.

"Well, the way I see it you only have two options. Either tell her how you feel, or get over her." Mark stated somewhat obviously.

"I'd gotten that far in my own self-pitying, Mark. Anything else?" Jack asked, somewhat frustrated.

"I can't help you anymore until you pick either choice A or choice B; and that's a decision you have to make on your own." Mark said.

"I'm going to tell her." Jack said almost instantaneously.

"Whoa, that was quick dude. Have you been thinking about this a long time?" Mark wondered out loud.

"No. It's just I don't think I could endure being around her feeling the way I do without her at least knowing. I mean, hopefully if I tell her, she'll at least give us a chance." Jack explained himself. "But if not, well at least she'll know."

"I don't wanna be a buzz kill here, Jack, but have you considered what would happen if she didn't give you a chance?" Mark asked.

"Not until now." Jack groaned, turning back around to lean on the balcony railing. "I guess worst-case is she'd get distant, and our friendship would probably fall apart." Jack said, cringing at the thought of a life without Kate.

"Yea, the outlook can be bleak can't it?" Mark chided, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Yea." Jack said, thinking. "So which one did you pick? You said you had personal experience."

"You remember Adrian, don't you?" Mark asked simply.

"Yea, never really knew why you two just stopped hanging out, though."

"Yea, well, now you do." Mark said, his mind drifting off as he looked into the same sky Jack was glaring into. He'd taken the same position Jack had, arms resting on the railing.

"I'm sorry, Mark. I never knew." Jack began to say, but Mark shook his head to stop him.

"Don't be, Jack. We all have shadows from our past we'd rather keep locked up. But sometimes, you just gotta let them go. You come out the other end better off, I promise." Mark told him.

"Good to know. Cause I think I just did that." Jack remarked quietly. "I told her to have fun, to forget about me for a few months, kinda bad advice for someone who wants to profess his love for her any day now, huh?" Jack chuckled sadly to himself.

"Yea. Yea, probably not the best first step." Mark joked, actually causing Jack to laugh back. "But nothing in life's easy is it?"

"Yea, I guess not. I love her and I let her go. You know how the rest of that saying goes." Jack said, feeling slightly better.

"If you're meant to be, then you're meant to be." Mark completed, "And I do realize that you just got me to recite a cliché, something you will be paying for." He said as he punched Jack in the arm, attempting to lift his spirits.

"Well, the saying's all well and good. But what if she doesn't come back? I don't think I can live with 'we're not meant to be.'" Jack asked concernedly.

"Well then," Mark said with a smirk on his face, "I guess we'll just have to be persuasive."

**A/N: That's it for now. I hope you enjoyed it. PLEASE leave a review, it'll help me get Ch8 out that much faster.**

**Coming up: Kate returns from NYC.**


	8. October Fall

**A/N: I'm back finally. I'm sorry to have kept you all hanging, but life caught up with me. Hopefully now that things have settled down some I can pick back up with the story. I've got a few chapters mostly written, so keep an eye out for updates. I want to thank all of you who reviewed the last chapter, and I encourage you to review this one as well as the more reviews I get, the more I want to get the next chapter out quicker. It's all in your hands :D. Anyway, here's Chapter 8. Kate's return.**

**Chapter 8: October Fall**

It had been a long, hot, drawn out summer.

A summer that was made to feel even longer when he received a voicemail from Kate saying she'd be back a month later. His heart had dropped at the news, and was barely able to make out the reason for the extended stay. He was relatively sure it was something along the lines of 'extra training' though. The only thing that truly mattered was he'd have to hold out for one month longer. Four weeks. Thirty days. Whichever way he said it, it always seemed like forever.

It was now the 1st of October, and Kate was due home tomorrow. Jack was full of mixed emotions, but not among them was sadness.

On the other hand, happiness, excitement, nervousness and apprehension were all present on the list that was growing by the minute.

Jack had made a reservation at a small Italian restaurant near the hospital for Friday night. He wasn't sure how Kate would react to the opening of his floodgates, but he was positive she'd at least want to catch up and tell him about her trip, because honestly, there wasn't much to tell about Jack's summer. _Well, besides the whole 'I love you' thing, but that type of thing doesn't happen every day._

Mark, being the good friend he was, had effectively become Jack's new- free- shrink. Whenever Mark sensed something amiss with Jack, they'd be at the gym within minutes talking it over during a basketball game. If anything came of his confession to Kate, Jack would have one person to thank.

Today was one of those days. The day before any big event is always an important one. It's when the butterflies strike, the nervousness creeps in and won't relinquish its hold on your mind, and you start doubting yourself and your beliefs. Jack had the textbook symptoms of cold feet.

"Alright dude, what's wrong?" Mark said as he took a warm-up jump shot and missed, as per usual.

"I dunno what you're talking about, Mark." Jack said, not bothering to look at his friend, his eyes concentrating solely on the basketball in his hands.

"Jack. Your mood started to lift after our little conversation a few months ago. Then suddenly yesterday, you were depressed again. I'm a lot of things man, but I'm not an idiot." Mark stated knowingly.

Jack just shrugged his shoulders and looked away, leading Mark to repeat Jack's name in the tone that Jack knew to well.

"Alright, alright. I'm just nervous, Ok? I am allowed to be nervous right? I don't do this kind of thing every day." Jack's nerves were getting the better of him. "Hell, I don't do this kind of thing ever."

"You want to know what I think you should do?" Mark said.

"Not really, but you're going to tell me anyway." Jack said, launching a shot of his own.

"Nice shot." Mark remarked sarcastically watching Jack's shot miss the rim, net and backboard all together. "I think you should _talk to me_ about it."

Jack seemed to think about this for a second, pushing his hand through his hair, one of his telltale signs of nervousness. "Fine. What if it all goes wrong? What if I tell her, and she never wants to see me again?"

Mark seemed to be ready for this kind of doubt. "First of all, I don't think Kate would do that to you, you've been through too much. You're too close to one another."

Jack considered this, but Mark could tell he wasn't convinced. It was Jack's irrational fear of rejection shining through once more, something Mark believed his father pressed upon him.

"_You don't have what it takes, son." Christian would say._

"What you have to decide for yourself is this. Would you rather be friends with Kate, hiding your feelings as she moves on with her life, falls in love with someone else, gets married and has kids, or are you willing to take a risk and go for it? That's the question you need to ask yourself." Mark laid it out for him, no sense in beating around the bush. "And if you ask yourself truthfully, I know you already know the answer."

Jack nodded his head a few times, signaling that Mark was getting through to him, finally. "You're right. I'm just really nervous. I don't know what I'm going to say." Jack began to ramble, before Mark stopped him.

"Stop right there, man. This time you get to learn from my mistakes. Don't plan out what you're going to say. Speak from here." Mark said gesturing towards his chest. "If you don't, then if she says something you're not expecting, you're stuck standing there looking like a freaking idiot."

Jack smiled for the first time that day. "Right. I'll have to remember that."

"Now let's play. I have a business deal to close in an hour. I don't want to be late." Mark joked, throwing the ball back to Jack to start the game.

"Don't worry, you'll be ready to go in, oh, I'd say 15 minutes." Jack joked, checking the basketball.

"Very funny, Jack. Very funny."

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"Hello, Mrs. Dobb, how are you feeling this morning?" Jack said as he walked into the patient's room.

"I'm doing Ok, Dr. Shephard. Did you get the test results back?" Jack's newest patient, Mrs. Dobb, replied.

"Yes, we did, and unfortunately I have bad news." Jack said, and saw his patient's facial expression visibly falter.

"Oh." Mrs. Dobb managed to whisper out, suddenly finding the bed sheets extremely interesting.

"You have Lupus, Mrs. Dobb. I'm sorry. It's definitely manageable with the proper medication, but there isn't a cure right now." Jack said.

Mrs. Dobb refused to look up from the sheet when she responded. "So, what do we do?"

"Well, we're going to get you on corticosteroids and immunosuppressants that will help manage the symptoms. But other than that, there's not much we can do."

"Will I die?"

Jack almost told her that everyone dies, but then realized what she was asking. "The disease can be fatal, but survival rates are extremely good. You should be fine.

This seemed to set Mrs. Dobb fears at ease. "Thank you, Doctor."

It seemed to inappropriate to say anything else pertaining to her newfound condition, so Jack simply left the room stating, "I'll be back to check in on you a little later."

Jack left the room, file in hand and headed over to the nurse's station to put the file back with his new order for treatment on Mrs. Dobb. He was about to pick up the next file on the rotation when a voice sounded out from behind me.

"Jack?" The voice said.

Jack turned around to see Kate walking toward him in her streets, clearly not on shift. "Hey." He said softly, a smile appearing on his lips as his eyes re-acquainted themselves with her thin frame after such a long absence.

Kate continued to walk straight into his arms, hugging him as only they could. The hug felt like it lasted minutes to Jack, but could have only been a matter of seconds before they broke away. Not nearly long enough in his opinion.

"How was your trip?" Jack asked, making conversation. What was he supposed to do, just blurt it out?

"It was good, Jack. But we can talk about that later, how have you been? Any life altering revelations? News?"

_If she only knew._

"No, nothing serious. Just a normal old summer, you know how it is." Jack responded.

"Yea, I'm sure Mark and the guys kept you pretty busy though, right?" Kate asked, eager to learn about Jack's summer.

"You could say that." Jack laughed, causing Kate to join in.

"So, seriously, tell me about your trip? How was the great city of New York?" Jack asked, eager to move the conversation of his miserable, mourning summer.

"There's so much to tell. Do you wanna go grab something to eat and I'll tell you all about it?" Kate asked gesturing outside.

"I'd—" Jack began to answer.

"Dr. Shephard! Patient in Room 23 is crashing! I need you in here now!" The new head nurses high pitched squeal emanating through the halls. _And I didn't think I could hate her any more than I did before._

"Shit." Jack said, turning back to Kate. "I gotta go. But I got us a table at Federici's tonight at 7. We can catch up then." Jack began to run for the room in question. "I'll see you then." He turned back to say before shifting into doctor mode.

"Hey Jack. How'd you know I'd want to go?" Kate joked as she watched him retreat.

Jack turned back quickly and gave her a patented Jack Shephard smile. Tonight was going to be awesome.

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This was it. The most important night of his life in his eyes. It trumped all those horrible standardized tests he knew he needed to ace, it trumped his graduation day, and it trumped the day he got his first job offer here at St. Sebastien's.

This was the day that would define the rest of his life.

Jack had gotten off shift about 30 minutes ago, and had barely had the time to shower and change into some more comfortable clothing at the hospital before heading out to Federici's, silently thanking himself for picking a casual restaurant in a relatively close proximity to the hospital.

He walked in the restaurant, silently hoping to arrive at the exact second Kate did, but to no avail. Instead, he went up to the host and found their table. He sat there waiting, doing his best not to plan out every possible permutation of how the evening could go.

He'd just run out of things to waste his time doing when he noticed Kate enter the restaurant. He immediately got up and hurried over to the entrance, where he escorted Kate back over to their table, helping her into her seat.

They began talking, Kate reminiscing about her time on the east coast. Jack couldn't help but feel that it all seemed kind of underwhelming, especially after she'd assured him she'd followed his advice as best as she could for the best part of the summer.

They were talking about one particularly fun night of dancing and bar hopping when Kate began behaving weirdly.

"So I take it you had one hell of a hangover the –Kate who are you waving to?" Jack asked, utterly bewildered.

Kate didn't respond immediately, instead standing up and waiting for her mysterious guest to come up from behind Jack. He arrived at the table and kissed Kate quickly before turning to Jack.

"Jack, this is my fiancé Tom." She announced as he extended his hand across the table towards Jack, who was still processing the word 'fiancé'.

_Her what?! Did she just say fiancé? She was gone 3 months, how is that possible? Oh shit, compose yourself, Jack. Shit. Shit. Shit. Pull yourself together. Say something- anything- blurt it out. You have to stop this right now! You've worked to hard to steel yourself for this moment only for it to be taken away from you. _

Jack opened his mouth to listen to his subconscious and speak, but his vocal cords had other ideas.

_No, Jack. You can't. You know why. You're still her friend, her friend that was about to profess his love for her, but she doesn't know that. To her, your just a friend, you're supposed to be happy about this, not depressed and frustrated. You made one choice and it's obviously not going to work. Be thankful you've got another chance at friendship. Shake the man's hand damnit! _

"This is the Jack you were talking about?" Tom asked Kate, clearly not expecting to see him, before turning back towards Jack. "Jack."

It was then, looking at the man for the first time, he realized who he was. If it was possible to hate a single person more than the new evil head nurse, this was the man.

Jack did his best to put on a calm expression and accepted the man's hand. "Dr. Brennan." Jack responded curtly, nodding his head before turning his attentions back to the table and his own thoughts.

_This is going to be awkward._

**A/N: Yes, I know some of you saw this coming, but I hope it didn't disappoint. I know others of you are cursing Tom (and me I suppose) but every story has to have some sort of problem, or it isn't much a story. I think you'll find the ending satisfactory when we get there, but when that happens is up to you. If you like the story tell me about it, if you have something you want to see happen... you guessed it... tell me about it :D.**

**Coming Up: Dinner and work gets awkward. But Kate has a question for Jack.**


	9. The Other Man

**A/N: Wow, it's been a long time since I've updated and I'm sorry about that. Organic Chemistry combined with Genetics really takes alot of time, but work comes first :D. I want to thank you all for the reviews from the last chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one just as much. Oh, last chapter someone asked if this was inspired by some movie they saw. I've never seen Grey's Anatomy so I can't say anything for sure, if there was a certain aspect of it you didn't like PM and (hopefully) I can assure you this story is going to take a different path. I can say this-- I'm trying to make this story as 'real' and 'human' as possible. If something happens, there's damn sure going to be a reason behind it. That said, enjoy the chapter!**

**Chapter 9: The Other Man**

It was then, looking at the man for the first time, he realized who he was. If it was possible to hate a single person more than the new evil head nurse, this was the man.

Jack did his best to put on a calm expression and accepted the man's hand. "Dr. Brennan." Jack responded curtly, nodding his head.

"You two know each other?" Kate exclaimed unknowingly, her head glancing at Tom then at Jack and then back to Tom.

"Yea, he's my boss." Jack replied curtly, bigger issues on his mind. "So, let me get this straight. You're engaged? Isn't that kind of soon?" Jack 's worst fears had just been confirmed; he was at least going to test the waters.

"We're getting married in a few months. We both know it's all been really fast, but we love each other, so we don't see any problems with it." Kate answered Jack's question, but not quite with the response he'd hoped.

"But you only meet each other, what? Two months ago?" Jack re-iterated disbelievingly.

"What's the problem Jack? Aren't you happy for me?" Kate asked, sadness and betrayal etched on her beautiful features.

"Yea. Yea," _Shit, you almost blew it there. Get out now. You're going to screw everything up. Make up some excuse to leave. _"Of course I'm happy for you. I couldn't be happier. Just...surprised that's all." Jack said through the fakest smile he'd ever mustered. He would've sworn that he saw Kate's face momentarily fall, but he knew better. He chalked it up to a trick of the light.

"Listen, guys," Jack announced, pulling his phone out of his pocket to check it for some non-existent urgent message calling him back to the hospital. "This has been fun, but I totally forgot that I have a shift that starts in about 15 minutes. So you two have fun, dinners on me. Consider it an engagement present." Jack said, rushing out of the restaurant as quickly as possible. Once again, Jack was silently thanking himself for picking a restaurant in close proximity to the hospital.

"Jack, wait." Tom called out, "I can call the hospital and get you out of it. Don't worry about it, I'm sure they can cope." _Tom 1-0 Jack. Tonight is going to suck._

Jack stopped and cursed to himself before turning around and composing himself. "Oh, that'd be great. Thanks a lot, Dr. Brennan."

"Please, Jack, call me Tom. We're not in the hospital right now." Tom requested as he walked toward the men's room, pulling his phone out to make a call that was just going to force Jack to lie again.

"You're getting married?" Jack whispered angrily after Tom left the table for the lobby of the restaurant, wasting no time in confronting the brunette across from him.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." Kate apologized softly, not knowing what could possibly make it better.

"Sooner? Don't you think this is something that you'd say when I ask you how your trip went this morning? Or maybe you'd even tell me that you met someone? I think it's pretty big news. Don't you?" Jack said, still clearly angry. "I think it's something I deserve to know before you drag him down here to meet me. You know, it's kind of awkward when you find out your boss is engaged to your best friend."

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I just thought you'd be happy for me, Jack. Why the hell are you so pissed off?" Kate shot back at him.

This comment made Jack stop and rethink the last few minutes and his regrettable outburst. He had to calm himself down, because this anger wasn't doing him or his relationship with Kate any favors. "I'm sorry Kate. I just felt like I deserved to know a little sooner. Can we forget about it, and move on?" _Wow. This secret has even got me apologizing for her mistakes. She's got me in her back pocket and she doesn't even know it._

Kate nodded and smiled that smile of hers that Jack adored so much. "Yea, Jack."

"That was weird." Tom remarked as he came back toward the table. "They said you weren't scheduled for a shift tonight. Strange right?"

"Yea." Jack answered. "Must have been a clerical error or something. At least I didn't have to head over there to find out. I'm not a fan of the new head nurse." He continued, desperately hoping Tom would buy it and drop the subject.

"Yea, at least that head nurse is only interim. My baby here starts again tomorrow." Tom said, leaning in to kiss Kate once again.

Jack cringed at the site, but managed to regain facial neutrality before either of his dinner partners noticed something amiss.

"So what have you been doing with yourself this summer, Jack? I heard there were some record high temperatures." Tom initiated a new topic of conversation, and for the first time Jack silently thanked him.

"Uhh, yea, it's been pretty hot. But you know, life goes on. I've been doing the usual- poker with guys, lot of basketball to keep fit, normal stuff ya know?" Jack explained.

"You play basketball, do ya?" Tom asked, his interest peaked.

"Yea, he tried out for the Columbia team, but he didn't make it, so he just played with Mark a lot." Kate answered for him.

"Oh, that's to bad. We might have played you then." Tom remarked off-handedly.

"We?" Jack asked, not sure if he wanted to know.

"Oh, sorry. I played for Harvard. Our schools were in the same division." Tom answered, and Jack almost gave up then and there. _He played varsity basketball? Tom 2-0 Jack. He went to Harvard? Figures. 3-0. Add the fact that he's the one who's with Kate, and what do you get? Game. Set. Match. Call it anything, that's game over._

"Oh, that's to bad." _I would've looked forward to hitting you a few times. If only…_

Suddenly Jack's phone rang. Silently blessing whoever it was that had called him he began to prepare his getaway.

"Hey big brother." Claire's voice piped through his cell phone.

"Hello? What? Really? Oh my god!" Jack said through the phone. Jack looked over at Kate and Tom and was going to just tell them one second but they seemed to be too absorbed in one another to notice, so he just continued. But upon hearing the frantic tone of Jack's voice, Kate immediately turned to face him.

"He did? Really? I'll be right there!" Jack exclaimed.

"What's wrong, Jack?" Kate asked, obviously concerned.

"Claire needs me to go home. Like right now. I've got to go. Enjoy your dinner." Jack rambled quickly, picking up his things and putting on his jacket.

"I'll go with you, maybe I can help. I've known Claire a long time to, and if it's Aaron..." Kate offered.

"No, it's alright. I'll deal with it. You two enjoy your dinner." Jack rejected her offer, and didn't fail to notice the hurt expression that appeared on her face.

As Jack began to head for the exit, he heard Kate's voice yell from behind him. "Jack, there's one more thing I wanted to ask you."

"Sorry, it'll have to wait. Big emergency. Ask me tomorrow, I'll see you at work." Jack muttered his goodbyes and hustled out of the door, not stopping the frantic pace until he was out of Federici's sight. Normally the distance between the hospital and home was enough that it warranted a subway ride, but not tonight. Jack needed to get some fresh air and some quiet time to himself just to reflect and what had been the worst hour of his life.

He trudged in the door some hours later to find Claire sitting on the couch, Aaron asleep in the armchair next to her. When she noticed his presence in the apartment she immediately got up and walked over to Jack.

"What the hell was that about?" Claire whispered angrily, careful not to wake Aaron.

"What was what about?" Jack asked, already knowing the answer.

"Your panic attack over the phone, Jack. What happened?" Claire asked as Jack grabbed a glass from the cupboard and a bottle of Vodka from the one next to it.

"Don't really want to talk about it. I'll be on the balcony if you need me." Jack said simply, before walking outside.

Forty-five minutes later, after putting Aaron to bed Claire walking outside to find Jack sitting, feet up on the coffee table he'd put outside, holding an empty shot glass and a half empty bottle of vodka beside his feet on the table.

"What the hell is going on with you, Jack?" Claire asked, enraged, concerned and confused.

"I could have had her, but I missed my chance. I lost her." Jack muttered, clearly drunk. "I wish I'd have grown a pair of..."

"Who? Could've had who?" Claire interrupted, the answer not yet coming to her.

"She's getting married. And she didn't even tell me." Jack slurred again, and then it all fell into place in Claire's head.

"Kate? Kate's getting married? Is that it?" Claire asked. _So that's the big news she wanted to tell me tomorrow._

Jack didn't answer, he simply refilled his glass and drained it again.

"Alright that's it. No more drink for you." Claire said, grabbing the bottle from his hand. "I thought you two were friends, why are you so upset? You're supposed to be happy when this happens to a friend."

Once again, Jack didn't answer. Just solemnly stared into the Los Angeles skyline.

"Oh my god. She's more than just a friend to you isn't she?" Claire gasped, realization hitting her for the second time in as many minutes. How had she not noticed it before? Thinking back, Jack had been moping around the apartment since she moved in three months ago. At the time, she'd just thought Aaron was keeping him up all night.

This time though, Jack gave a barely perceptible nod and Claire bent down to hug her older brother. She heard Jack whisper something that she couldn't hear because of the hair covering her ears and the deep, low tone of Jack's voice.

"What did you say, Jack?"

"Please don't tell her." He whispered so softly that Claire, listening intently, still had trouble hearing. "She's found someone who makes her happy. She deserves to be happy. She doesn't need to know, it would only complicate things. I don't wanna screw it up for her."

"So you don't deserve to be happy?" Claire asked pointedly.

Jack had no answer to that, instead choosing to repeat what he'd said only moments earlier. "Please Claire. Promise me you won't tell her."

"I Promise." Claire said, although she knew she'd have trouble keeping it.

Jack didn't sleep much that night, tossing and turning restlessly in those hours that he did pass out- but he could only thank the alcohol for that. He knew the reason for the tossing and turning, he just didn't want to think about it.

He awoke with a massive hangover, accompanied by the perfect headache, then realized the icing on the cake as well- a 12 hour shift at St. Sebastien's, which started in a few hours.

Slowly and reluctantly, Jack showered, dressed in some comfortable clothes then concocted a breakfast he hoped would help aid in his recovery. He took two ibuprofen, and then made a meal that consisted of as much sugar as he could find in his desolated kitchen.

Two hours later, and Jack was feeling a whole lot better. The headache had been reduced to a minor annoyance, and already Jack felt ready for work.

But he just wasn't ready to face Kate. Not just yet.

He arrived at work just on time for the beginning of his shift, and headed over to the Nurses' station to pick up his first patient for the day. As he made his way over to the station, he glanced up to see Kate sitting there filling out some paperwork. _Just my luck._

Jack walked over to the station slower than usual, but much more quietly. He managed to grab the file and move away from the Nurses' station without drawing Kate's attention.

He'd been avoiding Kate all day, and he was sure Kate had noticed it by now. Every time he saw Kate walking toward him he'd break off whatever conversation he was having and get himself out of the situation- twice he even locked himself in the supply closet.

It wasn't the reason he'd imagined locking himself in there, especially not when it pertained to Kate, but there was nothing he could do about it now. It looked like that particular fantasy would remain just that- a fantasy.

It was nearing midnight and so it was nearing the end of Jack's shift. He'd managed to avoid Kate all day. How? He wasn't exactly sure, but all he had left to do was drop this last file back with the rest and head home. Peeking around the corner so that he could see the entire station, he was relieved not to find Kate there at all. Thanking whichever higher power gave him this one break he hurried over to the files and dropped Mrs. Dobb's file in the appropriate section.

Mrs. Dobb had responded well to her treatment of corticosteroids and immunosuppressants and Jack believed they could release her in the next few days provided there wasn't another Lupus outbreak. From what he could tell, the disease seemed to entering one of its frequent remission periods.

Jack dropped the file in with the rest of them and turned around, glad to finally be done with the ICU for the day. When he turned around though, he sadly realized there was one person who had unfinished business with him.

"Jack. You've been avoiding me." Kate said, standing with her hands on her hips.

"No, I haven't. Honest. I've just been really busy." Jack tried his luck with an excuse, knowing deep down it would never work.

No dice. "Don't gimme that Jack. I've known you long enough to know when you don't want to talk to someone." Kate reminded him.

"Look, I'm sorry." Jack accepted he was caught. "I just don't really know what to say to you."

"Why?" Kate asked, eyes boring into his.

"Because you're getting _married._ I don't know. I guess it's just a lot of process. I'm sorry, I just need some time to figure out how I feel about this." Jack explained exasperatedly.

"What, like you want to give me your blessing? Look, I know you don't like Dr. Brennan, but Tom is a totally different guy than that. Plus, he seems to be interested in all the same things as you. I don't understand why you don't like him." Kate said.

_Not only does he like the same things; apparently he's Greg House and LeBron James rolled into one. That's why I don't like him. He makes me feel like shit when I'm around you._ _He makes me feel inferior. _"I guess I could give him a chance." _Yea, right._

"Thanks Jack. Now, I've been meaning to ask you this since last night. I was wondering if you'd be my 'best man'." Kate asked him.

Jack snorted in laughter. "You do know you don't get a Best Man, Kate, don't you? You get a Maid of Honor, and Tom gets a Best Man. And don't even ask me to be your Maid of Honor, because I'll say no." Jack said, his expression deadly serious. "I don't look good in a dress." He added as an afterthought- if only to lighten the mood and hide the real reason he'd reject any approach she made on that subject.

"Oh? And how would you know that Jack?" Kate said sarcastically.

Jack just gave her a look which told her that he was definitely not in the mood.

"Yea, so it's not an official position. I just want you to help me plan the wedding and things like that. You don't have to wear a dress or anything." Kate joked, making herself laugh at the thought of Jack wearing a dress. "Unless of course you want to."

_She wants me to help plan the wedding of the love of my life to the man I hate most in this world right now? She can't seriously expect me to accept. Can she? Well, then again, she doesn't know that I'm in love with her, so I can't expect anything of her. _

_Fuck._

_Ahh hell, why not. Worst comes to worst, at least I get to spend some final few weeks as the main man in her life. It is going to be tough to say goodbye when she does become Mrs. Brennan…Mrs. Brennan,_ Jack cringed at the thought…_It might just make saying those 'final' words to her that little bit easier._

"You also know I don't know anything about planning a wedding, right? I don't think I'd be much help." Jack reasoned, but Kate was having none of it.

"That doesn't matter to me Jack. You've been my best friend since I moved to California. I want you to be a part of this." Kate replied.

_Trust me Kate, so do I. Just not in the way you're thinking of._

It took Jack a minute, and he thought for what seemed like a century about his decision, but he eventually got there. "Ok, Kate. I'll be your best man."

"Thank you so much Jack." Kate cried, throwing her arms around him in an embrace. "You have no idea how much this means to me." She whispered into his ear through tears.

"No problem, Kate. You know I'm always here for you if you need me." Jack said, wishing she'd get the message underneath his words.

"Yea, Jack. Thanks a lot." Kate said, and Jack turned to walk away and head home, eager to finally put this day behind him. "Hey Jack? About before…do we...do we have your blessing?"

Jack turned around but continued to walk backward toward the door, only stopping once his hand reached back and felt the handle. He gradually lifted his eyes from the floor, and after looking at every surface in sight but Kate uttered rhetorically, "Would it matter either way?"

**A/N: Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it. If you did, tell me. If you didn't, tell me why. If you didn't care either way, well tell me that to...I want to improve.**

**Coming Up: Jack tells Mark. Kate 'tells' Claire and Claire has a few words of wisdom for her best friend.**


	10. Better Be Better

**A/N: Wow, this must be record time. Well compared to my usual updates. I've just finished exams, and so I've had more time than usual to write. I've got this and one more chapter written, with more in the drafting stages. Thank you for all the reviews from last chapter, and I hope you enjoy this one just as much.**

**Chapter 10: Better Be Better**

"She's getting what?! Can you repeat that? I don't think I heard you right." Mark exclaimed, clearly shocked at this cruel twist of fate.

"I'd rather not Mark. It was hard enough the first time." Jack replied dejectedly.

"Please, Jack. If I'm going to help you, then I need to know what happened. Trust me, you'll feel better after talking about it." Mark suggested.

"Now why don't I believe you?" Jack replied softly.

"It's true. Well, at least it was for me." Mark assured him.

"Alright." Jack finally agreed, taking a deep breath. "Alright. Well, I met her for dinner a few nights after she came back and you know, well everything was going great."

"Wait, you told her you loved her, then she dropped that bomb?" Mark surmised. "That_ is _rough."

"No, no. We'd just slipped back into our friendly routine; you know everything was clicking again. It was almost like all the shit I caused at dinner and my parent's party was erased." Jack continued to detail his story.

"Well that's good. Maybe your kiss didn't bother her as much as you thought it did." Mark tried to cheer Jack up, but Jack was having none of it.

"Yea, I could see how you'd guess that seeing as the next time I see her she's sucking face with somebody else." Jack replied angrily.

"Yea, sorry. So then what happened at dinner?" Mark asked him to continue, even though he knew it getting to Jack. If Jack was trying to hide the hurt and frustration, he wasn't doing a very good job.

"I was getting ready to tell her when she starts looking behind me and waving madly. I asked her what was going on and she basically told me to wait and see. I probably should have just turned around, but you ever just get that sense that whatever it is- it's going to suck? Well, I did, and to be honest I wasn't ready.

"I'm sorry dude." Mark consoled him, patting him on the shoulder. "I'm not going to pretend that I know how that must have felt, but I am sorry."

"Yea, well… then before I know it I looked up again and there she was hugging and kissing Dr. Brennan. Then –" Jack retold some of the worst moments of his life.

"Wait, wait, wait. Dr. Brennan? That dick from the hospital? That Dr. Brennan?" Mark inquired, causing Jack to nod. "Wow. I thought Kate hated him?"

Jack nodded his head slowly, wryly smiling at the cruel irony. "She never met him, she only said she did because I didn't like him. Being a friend, you know?" Jack replied.

"And then she announced the big news, that she was getting married. I felt like…like…well I had to get out of there. I tried to fake a shift but the _amazing Dr. Brennan_ called and rescheduled my nonexistent shift. Then he went on to put the nail in the coffin by bettering me in every single aspect of my life. Basketball, Med school, you name it and he's at least one step ahead. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date." Jack concluded glumly.

"A date? With who? You're over her already?" Mark questioned.

"There's a bottle of vodka waiting for me at home, and unlike every other aspect of my life, I _know_ that it's not going anywhere."

"Hold on there. That's it. What the hell did you do? You're not the type of person to sit there and endure all that for to long, not that it happens to often mind you." Mark said, punching his friend's shoulder trying to brighten his mood.

"Claire called and I just started yelling panicky words and ran out. I got home, sat down and downed a bottle of vodka before Claire started doing her thing." Jack explained.

"Her thing?" Mark asked, clueless.

"She likes to know every little thing going on with me now. She said she missed to much of my life while she was away, so this is her way of making up for lost time."

"It does sound like her." Mark chimed, causing Jack to laugh for the first time that day.

"Yea, it does." Jack said, the smallest of smiles appearing on his face.

Mark knew that talking about all the events of Friday night was probably the last thing he ever wanted to do, but he was determined to get his friend through this slump, and in order to do that they needed to talk.

"So. What did you two talk about?" Mark asked.

"Short version?" Jack inquired, not really looking for answer. He drew in a long deep breath and then uttered, "I told her."

"You told her? You told Claire? Were you drunk? Oh, right." Mark said, recalling what Jack had said earlier in regard to his alcohol consumption. "So how long do you figure before Kate finds out?"

"As long as I need." Jack replied cryptically. He continued on when he saw Mark's eyebrow raised in confusion. "She promised not to tell her. I told her that if Kate was ever going to hear it, it would be from me."

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"So I hear you're living with Jack. How's that going?" Kate asked Claire.

They had met up for lunch to catch up with one another's lives, and were currently walking aimlessly through downtown Los Angeles, not really attempting to find somewhere to eat, despite a growing hunger present in both women.

"Oh, it's going great. But enough about me, let's talk about you." Claire said, switching the point attention as quickly as possible, "Jack told me you had big news. Really big news." Claire said. She already knew about Kate's news, but if she told Kate that then it was only a matter of time before the rest of that conversation popped out and she had promised Jack. She would not tell Kate how he felt, no matter how much she wanted to. But she never promised Jack she wouldn't help him, she only said she wouldn't tell. And that was a promise she intended on keeping.

"Yea, don't you want to wait until we find somewhere to eat. You might pass out. I mean, it's _really_ big news. I mean Jack looked like a deer in the headlights when he found out. He must have been really surprised." Kate claimed.

"Yea." Claire agreed. _Or depressed, angry, frustrated, heartbroken, suicidal. One of those would probably cover it. _"But I think I'd rather hear it now. I promise I won't freak out."

"OK, OK. Are you ready?" Kate asked, pausing for effect, "I'm getting married." Kate screamed, jumping into Claire's already open arms.

"Oh my god. I'm so happy for you, Kate. Who's the lucky guy?" Claire squealed.

"Tom Brennan. He works at the same hospital as Jack and I." Kate explained, but Claire already knew exactly who he was. The jerk who would not leave him alone for three weeks about that surgery position. That certainly wouldn't have made it any easier on Jack.

"That's great. So how did you two meet?" Claire continued to probe for information.

"It was kind of weird actually. It was almost a month into my trip to New York. I wasn't having much fun, and had been staying in the apartment I'd rented most nights. I was just constantly bored and I missed Jack a lot more than I thought I would." Kate began to explain, "I mean I knew it would be tough to be 3,000 miles from him all summer, but I thought after a few weeks I'd settle in. But it didn't happen."

"So…what changed?" Claire asked.

"I called Jack one night when I was really miserable. It was like two in the morning and I couldn't sleep because I felt like crap, so I decided to call him. I didn't want to seem to vulnerable to Jack because I didn't want him to worry, but he knows me to well. He told me to forget about him and that I should be doing more with my time in the greatest city in the world. He said to forget about him until I came back to LA and enjoy my time in New York. I dunno why, but as soon as I finished talking to Jack I fell asleep and woke up feeling _a lot _better. That night I went out and met Tom."

"Wow. That is weird." _Fate is a cruel, fickle bitch. That is one part of the story that I'll make sure Jack never hears. If he did, well I shudder to think what he might do then. If he found out that he was the main reason Kate and Tom met…I don't even want to think about it._

"I guess I have Jack to thank for meeting Tom. He was only at that club that one night, and I found out later that was because he was just finishing up his move from New York to St. Sebastien's. When I told him I worked there already, it was weird, I dunno, almost like fate."

"How did he not know you already?" Claire asked.

"Well he's Chief of Surgery, and my wing doesn't generally interact with him to much. I told him all about Jack, but he must have assumed there were plenty of Jack's at the hospital, because he never made the connection." Kate explained as they walked by a small café.

"How about we eat here? My feet are starting to get tired." Claire suggested, gesturing towards the café they'd just passed.

"Yea, I agree. I'm starting to get really hungry too." Kate agreed, rubbing her stomach.

They sat down quickly and ordered some food before they began talking about, Claire quickly returning the conversation to Kate's engagement.

"So you've been together…two months?" Claire guessed based on the dates she'd been told.

"More or less." Kate answered, nodding her head.

"And you're getting married in…?" Claire asked, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

"About two months from now." Kate answered once more. "Which reminds me, I wanted to ask you something. I asked Jack to be my unofficial 'best man', you know help me plan things and make decision, but I was wondering if you'd be my Maid of Honor?"

"Kate, you shouldn't even have to ask. I'd love nothing more. In fact, I'd be honored." Claire answered, placing her hand on top of Kate's over the table.

"Which reminds me, I have something to ask you." Claire said.

"Anything." Kate answered quickly.

"You think you can take care of Aaron for me for a few hours tomorrow night? I'm meeting up with some old friends from… well, before Australia, and I'd really appreciate if you could watch him for a while." Claire asked sincerely.

"I'd love to. I've been trying to find some time when I could see him. What time should I swing by to pick him up?" Kate asked.

"Oh, I'd say five would be perfect." Claire answered after a quick moment of thought.

"Sounds good, I'll be there." Kate confirmed just as their food arrived.

They ate the majority of the meal in silence, their combined hunger getting the better of their talkative moods.

From what she'd gathered, Claire could tell that Kate was really attracted to Tom, and after listening to both Jack and Kate's description of the man, it was no surprise. But she also knew that Kate would always hold some kind of torch for Jack, it was inevitable after the bond they'd shared since they were teenagers. Jack was her brother, and even though she'd promised not to tell Kate his secret, she sure as hell wasn't going to stand by and watch his heart break in two.

"Kate. This is me asking as a friend here, nothing more. Don't you think this is all kind of sudden?" Claire said, breaking the comfortable silence that had enveloped them.

"What's sudden?" Kate asked.

"You and Tom. You're getting married barely four months after you met him, that doesn't seem quick to you?" Claire commented.

"I don't know, not really. When I met him it felt right, and everything else kind of fell into place after that." Kate said, shrugging her shoulders.

"I guess what I'm asking is, do you love him?"

"Yea, very much." Kate answered as she gazed downward toward the remains of her sandwich.

"You see, Kate, that's the problem." Claire said.

"What's the problem?" Kate asked, obviously confused.

"When someone asks you if you love your husband-to-be, 'Yea, very much' just doesn't cut it." Claire said vehemently, in order to convey her point. "When I ask you if you love Tom, you should get glassy-eyed just thinking about him; you should have a stupid grin that you can't wipe off your face. You should adore every single aspect of him- the way he laughs, the way he smiles, the way you feel around him, all of it. The bottom line is, when I ask you if you love your fiancé, 'very much' shouldn't be the first two words to pop into your head." Claire paused, giving it all a second to sink in.

"I'm not trying to give you second thoughts, I just want what's best for you, Kate." Claire assured her. "So think about that, OK? For me."

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"You've given up, haven't you? You've admitted defeat." Mark asked pointedly.

"What's the point in playing the game if you've got no chance of winning?" Jack retorted.

"The exact same reason that I play you in basketball almost every single day, Jack. If there's even the smallest chance of you coming out on top, you've got to try." Mark answered. "You'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't.

"But he's perfect for her. They share the same interests, he's really successful and she's crazy about him. I needed about 35 seconds with them at Federici's to see that." Jack admitted in defeat.

"Have you ever wondered she's so attracted to him, Jack? I thought you doctor types were smart. What other man in her life is a doctor, that likes basketball and all things outdoors?" Mark asked, attempting to spoon feed him the answer.

"But he's _better _at every single one of those things." Jack replied.

"That's not the point, Jack. It isn't coincidence that the guy she's fallen for is exactly like you in every single way. Even if he is a little farther on in some categories, it's nothing that can't be changed." Mark said, his eyes glinting mischievously.

"I guess that's true." Jack agreed reluctantly.

"I'm not telling you to go out and sabotage Kate's engagement, cause as much as I know you want to, that's not going to get you anywhere. You just…you better be better. I know you can do that. Even if nothing changes between Kate and you, you'll have done a hell of a lot towards you're self-confidence in trying." Mark finished.

Jack didn't respond, instead nodded his head before heading home. Before exiting the door, he quickly turned and muttered his thanks before heading down the stairs and out into the Los Angeles night.

Later that night, Jack turned on the Lakers game, only to turn it off minutes later after seeing the score. "T-Mac" He muttered, shaking his head sadly. He got himself off the couch and turned to head to bed for a good night's sleep. It may only be just past nine, but he had a long shift the next day. He began walking towards his bedroom when his eyes rested on his telephone.

He recalled Mark's words in his head one last time, before affirming to himself this was the right decision. He picked up the phone, and dialed the number he'd told himself he never wanted to dial.

"Dr. Brennan? I'm calling about that surgery position…"

**A/N: I know I have no right to plug for reviews, but if I get a decent amount of reviews for this chapter, I'll post Ch11 before my ETA of next Thursday. If not, well I'll just keep writing anyway and upload it on Thursday. In other words, please review! (Even if you're scared where it's going--tell me about it and I'll do my best to make sure I swerve around dangerous places.)**

**Coming Up: How does Jack far in becoming a better man? It's going to be a bumpy road.**


	11. Calling in a Favor

**A/N: Sorry it's a day later than I promised- ran into some minor computer problems. Thanks for the reviews from last chapter, I hope you enjoy this one just as much.**

**Chapter 11: Calling in a Favor**

It was barely quarter past ten, and this shift had already been one of the most hectic of Kate's career. Three patients had crashed in the last hour, Jack was mysteriously nowhere to be seen, and she had piles of paperwork to catch up on when the interim head nurse had decided that she just didn't feel like doing it.

Normally being one doctor short on a shift for a few hours wasn't a big deal, but of course fate picks today to be a pain in the ass.

Finally finding a few minutes peace, Kate sat down at the nurses' station to get started on that paperwork, the sooner she finished it the quicker she could pick up Aaron for the night, something she'd been looking forward to ever since Claire had asked her last night.

Kate had absolutely no idea where she was going to take him, or what they were going to do, but Kate held an almost unnatural affection for children, and Aaron was no exception. She'd met him for one night at Christian and Margo's party and she fell in love with the little boy.

Kate's mind was finally starting to focus on the insurance forms and procedure sheets she needed to fill out when she heard the time-card machine whir to her left. She quickly looked up to see no other than the AWOL doctor.

"Jack, where the hell have you been? It's been crazy down here." Kate asked, hoping they'd gotten past their awkward past few days.

"I had a meeting. Sorry." Jack replied nonchalantly, moving toward the list of patient's charts that he needed to see to today.

"You had a meeting? Is that all I'm going to get?" Kate asked. _Obviously we're not through _that_ phase yet. He's still pissed at me for not telling him._

Mark's words from the previous night flashed through his head. "_Be the better man", he'd said. _He'd tried to ignore her, because that was honestly as close as he could get to normalcy with her at the moment. But she'd pressed deeper anyway. _Screw it. _He would probably regret it later, but he couldn't be the better man just yet. He needed to vent, and unfortunately, Kate had presented him with an opportunity.

"Yea. I'm sure I'll tell you about it sooner or later though. Maybe in a month or two, when everything's already been figured out." Jack sarcastically replied, his face showing no emotion, before he began to walk toward Mrs. Dobb's room.

"I already told you I'm sorry Jack. What more do you want me to say?" Kate pleaded, walking after him.

"You've said enough already, Kate. You've said enough already." Jack said softly, not even bothering to turn to face her.

Before Kate could get any closer, she heard her name being called by another of the nurses from across the hall. "This conversation isn't over, Jack." She said, hoping to illicit some sort of response, but none was forthcoming.

Sighing in defeat, Kate turns towards the voice she'd heard before. Walking towards the young nurse, Kate frustratedly said, "What now?" She was not in the mood for this.

"We just got nine new patients in the wing. There was a big pileup on the freeway and the majority of the injured were sent here." The young nurse, Kim, informed her.

Kate sighed and rubbed her hand over her hair to compose herself. "Ok Kim thanks. Is that it?"

Kim nodded in response, and Kate turned away to finish her conversation with Jack. She needed to find out exactly what was bothering him and fix it. The last thing she'd intended to do was alienate Jack completely.

"Oh, wait. I just heard that Shannon called in sick, so you'll need to find someone to cover her shift tonight." Kim remembered just in time.

Kate groaned, continuing on her way towards Mrs. Dobb's room. She was already short staffed for the next week. The last thing she needed was a sick nurse. At this short notice, there was no way she'd be able to find another nurse to come in. She'd have to do it herself, and that meant missing her night with Aaron.

Just when Kate thought the day couldn't get any worse, it did just that.

"Mrs. Dobb, there isn't any more I can do for you. I'm sorry. You've been receiving you're treatment through an outpatient clinic. I'm going to keep you here overnight for observation just in case, but you'll be released tomorrow morning. Someone will be by later to make sure you're Ok." Jack finished his consult before swiftly leaving the room.

He'd diagnosed Mrs. Dobb with Lupus months ago, and he'd told her then there was nothing more he can do- the disease is currently incurable. Yet here she was months later, somehow having finagled her way into a hospital room asking for a diagnosis.

"Jack, is that any way to treat her? What the hell has gotten into you lately?" Kate said angrily.

"You're one to talk, Kate. I'm having a shitty few days, Ok? Cut me some slack." Jack said, taking the patient's chart straight past Kate and back towards the nurses' station.

At hearing Jack's dejected attitude, something broke inside of Kate. She exploded; all her anger and frustration was now channeling towards Jack. "You think you're having a shitty day, Jack? I have two weeks of paperwork to fill in because my bitch of a replacement didn't do _any_ of it, I've had to deal with three crash codes in the last hour, we've been a doctor short this entire fucking shift, you won't even talk to me, and to top it all off I have to cover some stupid nurse's shift so I can't even see your nephew tonight. So don't you dare talk to me about having a shitty day." Kate snapped, fire brimming in her eyes, daring him to question her.

"Sorry. Maybe you should talk to _Dr. Brennan_ about it." Jack remarked, almost spitting out Kate's fiancé's name. "That is what couples do, isn't it?"

His remark stung heavily, and Kate was unable to form a response. Jack had never been this angry with her. Even when she'd avoided him after he'd confronted her about Kevin, he blamed himself; and Jack was proved right in the end.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to finish my shift, then I'm going to see the big game tonight. Lakers-Cavs, it's going to be a blast." Jack said, just to rub in the fact that Kate was stuck here.

Kate could feel the tears forming in her eyes, but she was determined not to lose her cool in front of Jack. She performed a 180 degree turn and walked in the opposite direction of Jack, rushing into the first unoccupied room she encountered. It turned out to be a janitorial closet, but it didn't matter. Kate leaned against the shelves contained within the room and let the tears flow.

She didn't know what she'd done to upset Jack so much, but she wanted to be able to take it back more than anything in the world.

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"Hey, can you do me a huge favor?" Kate asked her fiancé over the phone.

"What's up babe?" Tom replied lightly.

"Can you take care of my friend's son tonight? Just for a few hours until I can get off shift. I was going to, but then I got stuck covering another nurse, so I can't see him until later. I promised, and Claire seemed really excited to see some of her old friends, and I don't want to be the reason she can't go. She'd never be able to find another babysitter in an hour." Kate rambled, the stress obviously getting to her.

"I'm sorry babe, but I can't. I have quite a lot of work to do here, I'm probably not going to get out of this office until late tonight." Tom said by way of an apology.

"It's Ok." Kate sighed, "Have you talked to Jack lately? He seemed…well, he was just really weird this morning."

"Yea, we had a meeting this morning." Tom answered quickly.

"Oh, yea?"

"Yea, he's finally taking up my offer for that surgical position in the hospital. Maybe he's just stressed?" Tom suggested, eager to help- as long as it didn't interfere with work.

_He took the position? Why wouldn't he tell me that? More importantly, why'd he take the position? He swore that he'd never leave the ICU; at least that's what he told me. _"Yea, I guess. I'll talk to you later." Kate said, hanging up her cell phone.

It just didn't make sense, why was Jack so upset over his meeting with Tom. It was obvious they didn't get along to well, but that was because Jack had never been a fan of surgeons, and that stemmed all the way back to his father. Even so, he never intimated that he _hated_ him, they just weren't very close. None of it added up, there was no way that a meeting where Jack was effectively getting promoted got him so angry. And why did it get him so angry with Kate, wouldn't it be directed towards Tom?

Putting her thoughts aside, she picked up her phone again to dial the number she'd been dreading all day. She'd run out of options, she was going to have to tell Claire she couldn't take care of Aaron.

She dialed her longtime friend's number and waited for answer. Claire picked up the phone after the third ring. "Hello?"

"Hey, Claire. It's me. Look, I'm really sorry—" Kate began, but Claire cut her off having none of it.

"Kate, don't worry about it. Jack explained everything. Don't worry about it. He told me you were running a few minutes late and couldn't get all the way over here in time, so you asked him to pick Aaron up and bring him to your apartment." Claire began.

"Oh." Kate muttered softly. _Was she serious? Jack had covered for her? After the way he acted toward her this morning? This was getting too confusing._

"Is something wrong?" Claire asked in a concerned tone.

"No, no. I'm fine. Have fun tonight, Claire." Kate said, still completely bemused.

"You too, honey. See you." Claire said, hanging up the phone, leaving Kate on the other hand wondering what exactly was going on. One thing was for certain, as soon as she got a second off, she needed to talk to Jack.

Two hours later, and the patient load had died down. Kate decided it was the perfect time to grab some dinner, and immediately headed downstairs to the cafeteria. When she entered the cafeteria she noticed it was relatively empty, and her rumbling stomach drew her like a magnet towards the food. Halfway through food line she noticed two particular occupants of the scarcely populated room. Jack was sitting with Aaron in his lap, while Aaron mindlessly played with the blocks laying around in no discernable pattern on the table.

Finally- the perfect opportunity to talk to Jack. Not only did he seem a lot calmer now with Aaron around, he'd helped her out with Aaron and she hadn't even asked him to. She'd just figured he was too angry with her to do her a favor.

As she got closer, she saw a smile playing on Jack's face as he played with his nephew, building the blocks into a tower only to see Aaron knock them down seconds later.

"Jack?" Kate said hesitantly.

Jack looked up. "Hey." He said softly, his smile faltering slightly, but not disappearing.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to see the basketball game?" Kate asked, moving closer to her main question.

"I was." Jack replied curtly.

"So, why are you taking care of Aaron for me in the cafeteria then?"

"Because I was selfish and a jerk this morning. I had no reason to snap at you like that, and it looks like you really had a long day, and I just thought you could use a little help."

"But you were so mad at me before. What changed?" Kate asked sincerely.

The truth was that Jack had turned around as he'd walked away, immediately feeling guilty over his scathing remark of the morning, and when he'd seen her run the opposite way with her hands covering her face he knew he'd crossed the line. No, crossed didn't quite cover it, he'd jumped over it.

Mark's words replayed in his head one more time, and this time Jack heeded them. Only problem was it was about six hours to late.

"I guess I realized that our friendship is way more important to me than some stupid basketball game."

**A/N: Hope you liked it. Reviews are greatly appreciated. **

**Coming Up: Some Jack/Mark/Tom/Sawyer :D, and a little bit of Jate.**


	12. Replaced

**A/N: Hey guys, thanks so much for the reviews for the last chapter, I really enjoy reading what you all think of this story and my writing in general. I've got a few busy weeks coming up,but I have one chapter after this written so hopefully that will help lessen the gap between updates. That said, I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

**Chapter 12: Replaced**

"Damnit! I forgot my scrubs top." Kate moaned to no one in particular. "I must have left them at Tom's."

The curse of the third floor scrubs machine, one of the hospital's most annoying money savers. The only way to get clean scrubs out was to put dirty ones in.

"Anything I can do?" Jack asked, appearing from behind her. In her frantic state she hadn't even heard him walk in.

"That depends, Jack." Kate answered cryptically.

"On what?" Jack answered, attempting to keep his vow to himself that he would try be the better man and put this whole 'not-telling-him-about-shortest-engagement-ever-to-most-hated-doctor-in-hospital' thing behind them.

"On if you'll give me your shirt or not." Kate answered matter-of-factly.

"Hmm, anything _else_ I can do?" He did say _try,_ after all.

"No." Kate replied absentmindedly, continuing to rummage through her backpack in the vain hope that she'd find something that she could use as a replacement for her scrubs top. There was no way she was putting in the blouse she had on now, it was way to expensive. Momentarily looking up at the doorway, she found Jack still standing there, looking somewhat amused. "You're still here?"

"Yea. Why wouldn't I be?" Jack responded curtly.

"Why _would_ you be? You've already shown your uselessness. I figured you'd just... leave." Kate said, regretting the words she'd used the instant they left her tongue. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I meant…for the machine…" Kate stammered.

The words stung Jack, but he managed to brush it off and continue the conversation almost as if it hadn't happened. "Don't worry about it. I know you didn't mean it, and I am sorry for being distant recently, I really am." _Even if I don't regret it. _Jack replied, hoping she didn't infact mean it.

"Think you could reconsider giving me your shirt?" Kate asked, running out of options, "I think it would be less distracting if you were walking around in just an undershirt than if I was walking around in just a bra."

"I dunno Kate, the nursing staff might not get much work done." Jack said jokingly, flexing his muscles.

Kate laughed for the first time that morning. "You have to be the most modest man I've ever met, Jack." She joked, "Besides _some_ of the nurses are seeing someone."

The comment shouldn't have affected him, but no matter which way he phrased it, Jack couldn't deny they did. "Yea, but none of their other halves work here, so I don't think I could deny them a little peek." Jack said, keeping up his macho bravado.

Kate laughed a little, then asked, "I think you're forgetting someone who wouldn't be to happy that their nurse was sneaking glances at your rock hard abs." Kate joked, placing a sarcastic emphasis on 'rock hard'.

"Who's that? I dunno who you're talking about." Jack said, not wanting to acknowledge his new boss by name. It was bad enough when Tom incessantly talked about his nights with Kate. He'd rather sit through an episode of Desperate Housewives than listen to all of Tom's stories. He was not going to subject himself to Kate's side of those stories.

"C'mon Jack, I know you don't like him, but just give him a chance. Please? If not for him, then do it for me." Kate pleaded. He almost resisted her pouty expression, but her emerald eyes got him once again. It's a good job she didn't know the true power they held over him or he'd truly be in trouble.

"Fine. But what do you expect me to do with him? We don't hang out. And I mean ever." Jack pointed out.

"Jack. You are practically the same person. Tall, smart, handsome, athletic. I'm sure you can find something to do. I know, why don't you take him with Mark to play basketball? I'm sure he'd love that." Kate suggested contently, causing Jack to form a hint of a smile.

The smile on Jack's face disappeared faster than it had appeared. "Basketball?" Jack muttered. Not basketball. Anything but basketball. It was bad enough that Tom outdid him in his chosen profession, but Jack wanted to keep their basketball 'rivalry' as abstract as possible. If Tom never played him, he could never prove he was better, and in Jack's eyes that was a moral victory. Not to mention the fact that basketball was his time to vent his feelings and insecurities to Mark. It had taken him long enough to open to his friend of ten years; he sure as hell was not going to do it in front of Tom- not least because he was the source of all his problems.

"Please, Jack? I'd really appreciate it. I really want you two to get along. You're the two men in my life after all." Kate almost begged him, trying again with the puppy dog eyes- but even they wouldn't work this time.

_Two men in her life?_ _Why do I get the feeling I've been replaced? _

Jack shut his eyes for a moment, knowing he'd come to regret this decision later on. "Fine." He relented, "Tell him to meet us at the gym at 8 tonight." Jack replied softly.

"Oh my god! Thank you so much Jack! This means so much to me!" Kate almost screamed, running over to embrace him.

Jack couldn't say the embrace wasn't welcome, but he thought he should probably let Kate know. If she ended up walking outside, it could end up a lot worse. "Uhh Kate, not that I'm complaining or anything, but you don't have a shirt on."

"Oh. Thanks Jack. I wouldn't want to walk outside in just a bra." Kate said, making no effort to cover herself up, which she knew made Jack even more uncomfortable.

"So, you're not going to put you're blouse back on 'til you can find some scrubs?" Jack suggested, eyes looking everywhere in the room but at Kate.

"Just look, Jack. It's not like you haven't seen them both before." Kate remarked, not the least bit flustered.

"Can we please not bring that night up again? I'm trying to forget it." _If only I'd told you then. I wouldn't be the 'best friend', I wouldn't be second best, I wouldn't have been replaced._

"I… I'm going to find Tom. I'm sure he has a spare shirt around somewhere." Kate said, walking briskly out of the room after putting her blouse back on, leaving Jack to wallow in his own self-pity- but not after he took one longing glance at Kate's retreating form.

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"Dude, it's not going to be that bad. I brought Sawyer." Mark joked while they warmed up as they waited for Tom.

"Hey now hoss, what the hell'd I do to piss you off?" Sawyer could be heard from behind them.

"Nothing. Just pointing out to Jack here that you're not very good. So even if Tom is the next Michael Jordan, he'll still look semi-good compared to you." Mark explained, causing Sawyer to simply glare at him.

Mark turned back to Jack who was simply shaking his head, fighting off the bout of laughter he knew was coming. Jack never could resist a good Sawyer-joke.

"It's all in here man, all in here." Mark said, pointing to his head. "I'm always thinking, I am."

"Yea, if only you had the basketball prowess to match that brain of yours." Jack chided him, grabbing the rebound when Mark's shot bounced off the rim.

"I come up with that brilliant idea to embarrass Sawyer and I get that as thanks? C'mon man, I've been practicing." Mark yelled out indignantly.

"You've been practicing, just not basketball."

"Alright smartass, we'll see who gets the last laugh."

"Yea we will." Jack admitted, silently praying he'd get the better of Tom tonight.

"How's it going' guys? Sorry I'm a little late. Surgery ran a little long." Tom greeted as he walked through the court's front door.

"No problem man, I'm Mark. Jack's best-friend." Mark walked over, shaking Tom's hand. "So you're the infamous Tom I've heard so much about."

"Yea, I guess that's me. Jack hasn't been saying to many bad things about me has he?" Tom joked, obviously taking an immediate liking to Mark.

"No, no. Actually, he can't stop saying good things. He can't remember the last time he's looked up to his boss so much." Mark said, causing Jack to put his hands to face in disbelief.

Jack looked back up in time to shake Tom's hand as he walked over to greet him. He quickly checked over Tom's shoulder to see Mark mouth 'payback'.

"Hey Tom." Jack greeted._ Short but effective._

"Hello, Jack. Kate tells me you're quite the basketball player." Tom remarked.

"Hah. At least he thinks he is." Sawyer remarked, not being able the resist a Jack-joke.

"You must be Sawyer." Tom said, making his way over to the third member of their party.

"How'd you know that, doc?" Sawyer said, slightly alarmed this newcomer knew his name, as he accepted the man's hand.

"Kate. She told me all about you three. Jack, I obviously know from work, Mark is the semi-insane, party-going businessman, and so you must be Sawyer, the one who can't turn down an opportunity to rib Jack." Tom explained, chuckling at Sawyer's confused expression.

"Well, you certainly got me pegged don't ya?" Sawyer smiled. It wasn't often Sawyer smiled, well unless it was at the expense of someone else. For someone to like someone off the bat, that was…unprecedented.

"So, you guys ready to play or what?" Jack asked, taking a shot for effect as he asked. Thankfully, it went in.

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"So where's the boy-toy tonight?" Claire asked as they sat on the couch talking.

"Oh, he's out with Jack and Mark playing basketball." Kate replied. She was very grateful that Jack had agreed to hang out a little with Tom and at least give him a chance.

"Little unfair on him don't you think?" Claire asked. She knew Jack didn't like Tom very much, and she could only assume that sentiment had rubbed off onto Mark. And, well if Sawyer was there, God help him.

"For Jack? Yea, Tom is really good at basketball." Kate said absentmindedly, mind wandering.

_No, for Tom. He's going to get a very cold reception at the gym._ "Yea…yea, for Jack."

"They'll be OK, Jack seemed fine when he said he'd play with him." Kate commented.

"Wait, he _agreed _to play basketball with Tom of all people?" Claire asked incredulously.

"Yea, why's that so weird?" Kate asked a question in return.

"Uhh, well, it's not like Jack to play basketball with anyone but Mark. It's kinda like their thing." _I almost let it slip then. I have to be more careful._

"Oh, right. Well, I did practically have to beg him to do it. But he seemed happy enough about it in the end." Kate answered, recalling their situation that morning.

_Of course he was OK with it. He'd do anything for you. _"That sounds like Jack to me."

An awkward silence enveloped the room for a few moments before Kate spoke up. "Claire, you remember when I told you about the night that me and Jack…you know…?" Kate asked timidly.

"Got to know each other? Yea, why? What's up?" Claire asked, suddenly intrigued.

"Do you think he regrets it?" Kate asked bluntly.

Claire was shocked; she had absolutely no idea how to respond. It was a double-edged sword. If she told Kate that he did regret that night then that would instantly end just about any hope Jack had of winning her back. But wait, he'd never really had her, had he? But on the other hand, if she told Kate that he didn't, which was how she suspected Jack felt about the night, then she'd be on step closer to revealing the truth- to revealing Jack's secret- and regrettably, that wasn't an option either.

"I'm not sure, sweetie. You'd have to ask him yourself." Claire skirted around the question, doing her best not to provide any evidence for either case.

"Yea, that's kinda the problem." Kate mumbled to herself. "I better go, early shit tomorrow." She said, smiling weakly before walking outside.

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"That the best you got Jackass? I thought you were supposed to be good at this game?" Sawyer taunted Jack.

"What exactly have you done all game Sawyer?" Jack replied, catching Sawyer off-guard.

They'd been playing for the better part of an hour, and it was an extremely close game. He'd find out many things during this game, including the fact that Sawyer really was a terrible basketball player, but he'd also discovered that Tom wasn't lying when he'd said he played for Harvard. Of the twenty points Sawyer and Tom's team had amassed, Tom had scored all twenty, a fact that Sawyer conveniently overlooked in his joking.

Jack and Mark had kept up better than he'd originally expected, having scored 18 between them. Jack had eleven of those points, while Mark had gathered the remaining seven. They had the ball now, with the possibility of tying the game with a shot from behind the arc.

"Just check the ball, Jack-o." Sawyer goaded him from underneath the basket where he was guarding Mark.

Jack did just that, and the point began. Jack tried everything he had in his arsenal to get past Tom, but nothing worked. Mark realized he was having trouble and attempted to set a pick, but Tom saw it and sidestepped just in time to stick with Jack.

Frustrated, Jack signaled Mark to get open, and once he did Jack passed him the ball. Mark knew he had the mismatch against Sawyer, and once he'd made himself a yard of space, took a shot. He could immediately tell it was slightly wide, and so he yelled "Off!" to alert Jack a rebound was needed.

It quickly became a footrace to the basket between Jack and Tom. At one point Jack thought he had the edge, but when he went to begin his leap he found Tom had taken off from a few feet behind him and reached the apex of his jump quicker, coming down with the rebound.

"It's alright Jack, we got this." Mark supplied encouragingly as Tom took the ball behind the 3-point line to begin their possession.

Tom took the ball from the center of the court and went 1-on-1 with Jack. But, as he had all game, Jack stood tall and refused to be passed. But Tom had one last trick up his sleeve, he signaled Sawyer to run over to him, and used him as a pick. Jack was trapped between Sawyer and Tom and was unable to reach the ball. "Switch!" He yelled out. It wasn't the best plan, but it would have to do. Hopefully, Mark could get the business done against Tom.

In a matter of seconds, Tom had faked right and gone left around Mark and was making his way to the basket. Jack saw this and sprinted to intercept him. He reached the space between Tom and the basket just as he was taking off for his game-winning lay-up. Jack leapt up, fully intending to block the shot. _I've got him now. There is no way he's making this lay-up over me._

Tom looked up quickly to see Jack's hands blocking his route to the basket and quickly looked to his right to see Sawyer wide open. When Jack noticed this his smile faltered. He tried to get his hands down to his left to block the pass, but it was no use.

Sawyer received the ball underneath the basket and easily made the lay-up to win the game and condemn Jack to defeat.

"You ain't got nothing on us, Jack-o." Sawyer jeered him.

"Good game guys, good game." Tom said, much more classily than Sawyer had.

Half an hour later, Mark and Jack were leaving the gym's changing room. Sawyer and Tom had left immediately following the game. Sawyer saying something about a 'hot date' and Tom was leaving on a hospital business trip in the early hours of the morning.

"What's the matter dude, you haven't said a word since…since we lost." Mark said.

"I dunno, I just feel like I've been replaced. I'm not Kate's go to guy anymore. I'm second choice." Jack said softly.

"Don't think like that man. They're in a relationship, friendship is always going to appear to take a backseat. That isn't always the case."

"But she said that me and him are the two men in her life. That was never the case before hand. Look, I'm probably just being stupid, just forget it." Jack replied.

"No. Look, if you were still the only man in her life, that relationship is already over. You're going to have to deal with that. She's going to talk to Tom, she's going to ask his opinion on things, but when something comes up that's truly important, I can guarantee you she'll come to you. Remember that, Jack." Mark assured him.

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"Alright babe, I've got to head to the office really quick to pick up some things then I'm headed to the airport." Tom explained.

"Do you have to go?" Kate pouted, pulling him closer to her.

"You know I want nothing more than to stay here with you." Tom assured her with a kiss, "But I have to finish up some business back in New York. I'll only be gone for a few days. Then I'm all yours."

"Please? Do it after we get married." Kate pleaded, throwing him the puppy dog eyes. "It's only three weeks. Please?"

"Sorry, babe. I'll call you from the airport just before my flight leaves. Around 5? You'll be up for work already, won't you?" Tom replied.

"Can't you leave later tomorrow morning? Why did you have to pick a flight literally at the crack of dawn? I could make it worth your while..." Kate said suggestively, ignoring his question.

"It was the only thing they had available on such short notice. I'm sorry. I'll call you before I board." Tom answered.

"Alright." Kate sighed in defeat as Tom walked out the door. It was only a few days right? What could possibly go wrong?

A few hours later and it was almost two in the morning. Kate was sitting on her couch watching _Mamma Mia _when the shrill sound of Kate's cell phone awoke her from her trance. She quickly glanced over at the empty space beside her before standing up and making her way over to the table, which housed her charging cell phone. Maybe it was Tom calling to tell her he'd changed his mind and was on his way home. Well, not really home, but basically lived here. He stayed over most nights anyway, they just had to make it official.

"Hello?" Kate answered upon seeing the unknown number on the caller ID.

"What?" was all Kate managed to say through the tears now cascading down her cheeks. Her mother was right, a call in the middle of the night is _never_ good news.

She hung up the phone, immediately grabbing her coat. She took one longing look back into the empty apartment before heading out of her apartment, down the stairs and out into the Los Angeles night, which had seemingly shifted several shades darker.

She really needed someone right now.

**A/N: Sorry for the slight cliffhanger, but I won't leave you hanging to long. I promise. If you liked chapter, please review, it might encourage me to forego some work in favor of the next chapter :D**

**Coming up: The aftermath of the phone call. (I really wanted to be more descriptive, but that kinda defeats the purpose of a cliffhanger :) )**


	13. Only Human

**A/N: Hello again. Sorry about the long wait, but life got crazy all of a sudden. Thank you for all of your reviews last chapter, and hopefully you have the same kind of reaction to this chapter. I have the basic plot planned out and I'd say that this story will last around 20 chapters if I've gotten everything right. Anyway, here's chapter 13.**

**Chapter 13: Only Human**

Kate's mother was constantly reciting old adages and spouting advice during her childhood. Her personal favorites were "You made your bed, now lie in it." and "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." It seemed that every single one of the old woman's bits of advice had cropped up at one time or another in Kate's life, but right now, it was a very different saying that was replaying through her mind.

"Nothing good ever happens after 2am, Kate." Her mother used to say; and right now, a truer word had never been spoken.

Her mother had taught her many things. She'd taught her how to act like a lady (well, she'd tried), she'd taught her to strive to achieve her goals, she'd taught her to never give up, and she'd taught her what it means to love someone. But, for all the knowledge and wisdom Diane Austen had bestowed on her daughter, the process of grieving was absent.

Here she sat, on the edge of her seat, trying to get as close as possible to her dying mother, the fear of hurting her further the only thing preventing her from wrapping her snugly in her own arms.

You'd think after all she'd endured back in Iowa before she moved out to Los Angeles she'd be a little better at saying goodbye, but it just wasn't to be. She sometimes wondered how she managed to be an effective nurse with her innate phobia of losing those she loved constantly threatening to overtake her. Jack had often offered to talk about it when he noticed her distress, but she declined every time. That was her past, a past she fully intended on leaving behind; a past she didn't intend to share with anyone, not even Jack.

The shrill of her cell phone interrupted Kate's thoughts. She looked down to see Tom's smiling face on the screen of her iPhone. It was about 4:30 in the morning, which meant he was about to board his flight, and was calling to say goodbye. Somberly, she answered the call, "Hey."

"Hey babe, I got held up at security so I'm in a huge rush. But I just wanted to call and tell you I love you before I go." Tom said breathily, obviously running through the terminal.

"Yea." Kate said, barely listening, still recalling her fondest memories of her mother.

"Is something wrong, Kate? You OK?" Tom asked.

"Tom, I really need—" Kate began, but Tom didn't let her finish. _Tom, I really need someone to talk to._

"Shit. That's the final boarding call, I gotta go Kate. I'll call you tomorrow morning. I love you." Kate heard Tom's voice crackle through, quickly followed by the sound of the call disconnecting.

"Yea." Kate whispered to the silent room. "I know."

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Jack hadn't gotten a full night's sleep since…well since before he could remember. Longer shifts at the hospital combined with his new surgical internship and this whole 'Kate affair' were taking a real toll on his body.

He had just about settled down and felt sleep closing in on him when the unmistakable sound of someone knocking on his door echoed through the apartment. "I'm going to kill you Mark." Jack muttered as he got out of his bed, quickly checking to make sure Claire and Aaron were still sleeping soundly.

He made his way to the door clad in just his boxers and an old Columbia t-shirt without bothering to check the peephole, already knowing who it was outside. "This better be good."

Jack opened the door to find the one woman he least expected to see here-especially at this time of night, or morning, depending on how you looked at it.

Jack quickly took in her appearance. She had clearly been crying, but even in her tired and disheveled state she still looked beautiful to him. "Kate? What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry." Kate sniffed, "I know it's late…it's just…I just…I need someone to talk to." Kate said softly.

"What's wrong? Did something happen with Tom?" Jack said, a glimmer of hope creeping into his stomach- a glimmer that was just as quickly quashed by an overbearing sense of guilt.

"No. Not Tom." Kate shook her head, directing her attention back to the floor as she wiped away another tear. "My mom died." Kate sniffed, unable to withhold the barrage of tears that quickly followed any longer.

"Oh my god." Jack whispered closing the distance between them and enveloping Kate in his strong arms, all thoughts of tiredness instantly erased. Kate returned the sentiment and it wasn't long before Jack could feel her tears through the thin fabric of his t-shirt. "Let's get you inside." He said, moving them into his apartment, shutting the door behind them.

He guided Kate through his humble apartment, setting her down on the side of the couch before quickly making his way toward the kitchen to make her a glass of water.

He returned to his living room, and after passing the glass to Kate, sat in the middle of the couch making sure to keep his distance. He knew from firsthand experience that Kate had a hard time dealing with any death, let alone the passing of someone as close to her as her mother. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her in any way.

To his surprise though, Kate put down the glass and snuggled into him, burying her face into his shoulder. Jack in response wrapped both arms around her small frame and pulled her even closer to him.

They sat together in silence for a while, both content to be in each other's arms. Every once in a while the quiet would be broken by the muffled sound of Kate's sobs against his shoulder. It was nearly half an hour before Kate finally spoke. "I just never thought it would happen to her."

"I just thought that she'd always be there for me. I thought she'd be here forever. No matter what happened. I never imagined she'd be taken away from me so quickly. I was so naïve. I should've been there. I should've been there to say goodbye." Kate whispered, finally feeling the urge to share her feelings, with possibly the one person she felt able to.

"Shhh, Kate. There was nothing you could have done." Jack consoled her, rubbing her arm in an attempt to comfort her. "This isn't your fault. She lived an amazing life, and I'm sure she doesn't want you ruining yours in grief."

"I thought she'd be there when I fell in love, when I got married, when I had my first child. But now…she's gone, and I don't know what I'm going to do." Kate whispered, the tears flowing incessantly. "How am I supposed to enjoy the happiest day of my life when the saddest day has only just passed?"

"It's going to be OK, Kate. She'll always be with you, watching over you. She'll never leave you." _I'll never leave you._

"It was pretty stupid of me, huh?" Kate smiled through sniffles, and she looked more beautiful than anything Jack had ever seen. "Thinking my mom would live forever?"

Jack smiled back at her. "No Kate, it wasn't stupid. I did the same thing when I lost my grandpa Ray. He was always there for me when my dad wasn't. He was the one who took me to basketball games, he was the one who I would play catch with, he was the one showed me the love and affection my father barely did. When he died, I felt lost. I didn't know how to cope. I'm not gonna say I know exactly how you feel…because I don't. But I know something like it." Jack recalled fond memories of his grandfather. He'd often wondered where the cold-hearted Christian Shephard got his genes from- because it definitely wasn't from his own father.

"Thanks Jack." Kate whispered, head still buried in his shoulders, arms wrapped around his neck. "I don't know what I would've done without you."

"You're an amazing strong, intelligent woman Kate. I'm sure you would've managed something." Jack said, drawing her tighter when he felt the smallest of smiles creep onto her face.

"Hey Jack?" Kate whispered, her voice muffled by the tear-soaked cotton of his shirt. "Why are you doing this for me?"

"What are you talking about?" Jack responded, confused.

"After all I've done to you in the past few months. Ignoring you for three months, getting engaged without telling you, just basically being a bitch. Why are you still doing this for me, after all I've put you through?" She said, withdrawing her body from it's perch upon it's chest to bore her tear-stained emerald eyes into his.

_Because I love you. _"Because…because you're my best friend, Kate. And there's nothing that you can do to change that. You only ignored me because I basically asked you to, and you got engaged because it felt right. It would take a lot more than that for you to get rid of me." Jack answered her, "Oh, and Kate?"

She looked up from chest, waiting patiently for him to continue.

"You were never a bitch."

A blush crept up across Kate's cheeks as she smiled in thanks before resuming her position in the crook of Jack's neck. For the umpteenth time that night, they sat in the silence of each other's company.

"You know Kate, you are the most amazing woman I've ever met Kate- and you deserve happiness, you deserve it all. The big white house, the white picket fence, 2.5 miniature Kate's running around the yard. All of it." Jack said softly, verbalizing his thoughts.

"Is that you mom, or is it Jack?" Kate asked.

"Oh, definitely me. But I think your mom might agree with me." Jack joked, relieved to hear Kate's slight giggle.

"How do you always know what to say, Jack?" Kate asked, still surprised that Jack had managed to cheer her up.

"I dunno. I guess I'm just saying what I'm thinking." Jack answered absentmindedly, suddenly regretting it when Kate pulled away from his chest and leaned against the pillow on the other side of the couch.

Once again, utter silence followed, but this time it was anything but comfortable. Kate looked stoically forward, not moving a muscle, but Jack couldn't help but cast fleeting looks to his left to see if Kate would forgive him for what he'd said. Exactly what that was though, he wasn't sure.

A few minutes later, the awkward tension was snapped. "Do you really think that I'm some amazing, strong, intelligent woman? Or are you just saying that to make me feel better?" Kate said sternly, her eyes once again boring into his.

Jack gazed into the deep emerald color that was currently searching his face for any sign of the truth, a truth that Jack knew he'd have trouble admitting. Now just wasn't the time to tell her he loved her, and as much as he wanted to do, he wouldn't do that to Kate. She had too much on her plate already.

He looked away for a moment, Kate's relentless gaze amplifying his fear and apprehension, but a moment was all he needed. He mustered up all of his courage and returned his eyes to hers. "Kate, you are without doubt the most amazing women I've ever met. You're beautiful, smart, strong, and you are the best friend I could ever ask for. I've known that since the day I met you."

Kate smiled as she moved her hand to wipe away the tear that had crested underneath her eye. She looked back up at Jack, who only smiled back reassuringly, still unsure as to how she'd react. He'd done his best to but Kate's needs before his own tonight, and he truly hoped he hadn't screwed it all up with that answer.

For a second Kate looked like she had something to say, but when she closed her lips again, the silence had grown to long. Jack had to look away, cursing himself for being such an idiot. He was only brought back to reality when he felt Kate's hand on his cheek. Her soft skin sent a surge of electricity he knew he shouldn't be feeling coursing through his body. She slowly guided his eyes back to hers.

She looked him in the eye, and said, "Jack. I need to ask you something."

"Anything, Kate. You can ask me anything." Jack answered unwaveringly.

"Do you regret it?" Kate asked, somewhat mysteriously.

Any other person would have almost no idea what she was getting at, but Jack understood perfectly. She was asking about the time they slept together in college. Almost 12 years ago now. The best night of Jack's life.

"No. I wouldn't change a thing."

She slowly brought her free hand to cup his other cheek, and drew her face closer to his. Her eyes flickered between his eyes and his lips as Jack's did the same. _This is really happening,_ Jack thought as they drew closer.

Her soft, supple lips met his in a tender, gentle kiss. It wasn't fiery and passionate as Jack had always imagined their first real kiss, but it was sensual all the same. The moment Kate's lips met his all rational thought was pushed from Jack's mind. The only thing that mattered right now was that Kate was with _him. _Kissing _him. _

It didn't take long for Jack's tongue to slide across Kate's bottom lip, slipping inside her mouth not long after. They explored every crevice of each other's mouths, leaving no part unturned. Now it was Kate's turn to take control. She slowly maneuvered herself into a position where she was straddling Jack's legs, pushing herself ever closer to Jack, her breasts rubbing against his chest as their tongues danced together.

After what felt like only seconds, Kate abruptly retracted her lips and moved off of Jack, scooting over to the side of the couch, putting as much distance between them as possible.

"I'm sorry. That was a mistake. That shouldn't have happened." Kate apologized profusely, grabbing her coat and making her way toward the door.

Jack immediately rose from his seat and followed after her. "Kate. Don't do this. You don't have to leave." Jack almost yelled after her.

But Kate was having none of it. She quickly reached the front door and swung it open and almost had it closed before Jack caught it, holding it open.

"Please, Kate. Don't do this." Jack felt like he was begging.

Tears having returned to her eyes, Kate muttered, "I have to go. I'm sorry I kissed you." before walking down the hallway and back into the Los Angeles night.

_I'm not._

_**A/N: Thanks for reading. Please drop a review on the way out, it lets me know that I didn't waste your time (I really hope I didn't :D).**_

_**Coming Up: You didn't think there'd be no repercussions did you?**_


	14. Unwitting Sacrifice

**A/N: Wow, I want to apologize for the huge delay in update time. My usually reliable computer crashed and I lost the majority of my HD. So here is the redone version of Chapter 14. I still have the overall outline to the story because I wrote that down :D, so I only lost what I'd written down- namely this chapter. Having said that, I'm really proud of this chapter. I moved from my strictly Jack POV to a mix of both Jack and Kate in order to delve a little in what Kate's thinking. I hope you enjoy it, and I'm sure some of you will catch the not-so-subtle Scrubs homage I added. I thought it fit really well with the current situation . We're entering the final stretch of story now, so bear with me.**

**Chapter 14: Unwitting Sacrifice**

It's been two days.

It's been almost two days since he'd so much as seen Kate. He'd stopped by her apartment the night after she'd so suddenly left his, but she'd quickly told him she just needed to be alone to think, to grieve. As much as Jack had hoped she'd want his company, he'd begrudgingly respected her wishes and left her alone to her own thoughts.

Truth be told, Jack was still reeling from that kiss. While the rational side of his mind told him that she was just in a state of emotional distress, his irrational and romantic side was constantly reminding him that the kiss was to tender, to sensual, to emotional to not have been backed by some sort _real _feeling.

Now here he was, barely minutes away from getting the explanation he wanted. No. The explanation he needed.

Jack's thoughts were interrupted when the very subject of his minds musings called out from behind him.

"Jack!" Kate called.

Jack turned around, startled to see her sounding so…well, not depressed. "Oh, hey Kate. How you holding up?" Jack asked with concern.

"I'm doing better. I really needed those two days, though. Gave me some time to figure things out, set my head straight, ya know?" Kate replied.

"Yea, listen if you need someone to talk to about all this. Just let me know, okay?" Jack told her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"Actually, Jack. There is something I need to talk to you about." Kate said, and felt Jack's arm tense around her shoulder. She had a feeling he knew exactly what she meant.

Why was he so nervous about this topic of conversation? He wanted to know how she really felt, why she really kissed him, so badly. So why did he feel tense at the mere mention of the instance? It wasn't like he was dreading the conversation itself, was he? No, he was dreading the possibility of rejection, the possibility that she deeply regretted what had happened only 48 hours ago.

"Is something wrong, Jack?" Kate asked, knowing full well what it was.

"No, no, just a chill. The wind, you know…" Jack attempted to explain._ The wind Jack? Really? That's just great. I thought you considered yourself witty?_

"Oh ok." Kate said, not believing any of Jack's excuse, "I need to talk to you about what happened…you know…two nights ago…" Kate said, not really knowing what to say.

"Yea. Look, I can't really talk now, Kate. But uhh, how about at lunch? We can talk then, right?" Jack suggested, still not entirely with the idea of discussing it. Once again, apprehension had taken over. It had turned him the hopeful, confident man that strode out of his apartment this morning to the cold, worried man about to stride through the hospital's doors.

"I can't Jack. Tom got an early flight back after I told him about my mom. He's meeting me for lunch so we can talk things over." Kate replied, not eager to bring up the subject of her mother again, she was dreading lunch already.

"Oh, well, maybe tomorrow then?" Jack replied passively.

"No, Jack. We need to talk about this before Tom gets back. Please, Jack. This is serious. I kissed you, Jack. And you kissed me back. We need to talk about this. Soon." Kate implored him.

"Alright, Kate. Look, I think I can take a break around 10:30. Can you get off then too?" Jack asked sincerely, attempting to overcome his mild apprehension.

"Yea, I think I can manage that, Jack." Kate replied, "So…"

"I'll meet you in the lounge. By that scrubs machine you love so much." Jack quipped, causing Kate to smile for the first time since her mother passed.

"Thanks, Jack. I really needed reminding." Kate thanked him as they walked out of the elevator into the ICU.

"Hey, that's what I'm here for." Jack smiled.

"I'll see you in a few hours, Jack. OK?" Kate said as she walked towards the nurses' station, doing her best to keep her mind off of her personal problems and onto her work.

"Yea, Kate. I'll be there."

* * *

The next two hours passed amazingly fast. He wasn't particularly busy, but time also flies by when you're worried about the near future. It was just one of those twisted things the human mind does just to screw with you. And Jack felt like his mind was out to get him.

Before he knew it, it was 10:30 and Jack felt obligated to head to the locker room. As much as he feared the possible outcomes of the conversation, he knew it was one that had to take place.

He opened the door to the doctor's lounge to find Kate sitting on the sofa, head resting on her chin, deep in thought. Jack slowly walked over to the sofa, sitting down next to her. It took Kate a moment, but she eventually noticed Jack's presence.

"Hey" Jack greeted.

"Hey yourself." She replied.

"So, you holding up Ok?" Jack asked, attempting to delay the inevitable.

"I'm fine, Jack. Really."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm not sure Jack, I just lost my mom. Do you really think I'm going to be perfectly fine? Yes, I still have problems with. Yes, I still have insecurities about it. Yes, I'm still feeling incredibly lost. But…those are my problems and I'll deal with them." Kate burst out, tears forming in her eyes. "But I need to know what happened after that, Jack. What were you thinking?"

"What was I thinking? You kissed me! What the hell did you want me to do!?" Jack replied, visibly frustrated at having been blamed for something he had no way of preventing. Not that he'd have intervened it he could have.

"You kissed me back, Jack. Don't deny it." Kate retorted.

"It barely lasted ten seconds, I didn't even have time to react." Jack lied. He knew it had lasted longer than ten seconds, and he'd definitely had time to react, but it wouldn't have mattered either way. There was no way he was turning down the love of his life.

"You had plenty of time, Jack. Why did you kiss me back?"

"I don't know, I wasn't thinking clearly, I—" Jack tried to answer.

"You weren't thinking clearly, Jack? Do you not remember what happened? Look Jack, I came to you for help, I needed someone to talk to. I kissed you, yes, I kissed you, but I made a mistake. I was feeling emotional and stressed and I made a bad decision." Kate explained.

"So that kiss…it didn't mean anything?" Jack asked, fears turning to reality.

"Jack, I don't know what I was feeling. I still don't. I go from smiling and happy to bawling and depressed in seconds. Did you feel anything?"

"I—" Jack stuttered, unsure how to answer the loaded question.

"You know what, Jack. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if I felt something, if you felt something, it just doesn't matter." Kate continued, saving Jack the trouble of answering. "I am going to marry Tom, Jack. I love him. Last night was a mistake. Now I'm asking you as my friend, Jack, please don't say anything. It would ruin everything. Tom gets really jealous. I can tell he doesn't like me hanging around you so much."

"He gets jealous?" Jack retorted, anger rising inside him. _Shit, wrong thing to say. _"I've been your best friend since the day you got to L.A., Kate. How do you think I feel about being thrown to the wayside?"

"How many times do I have to apologize for that, Jack? I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I'm sorry I haven't made time for you lately. But I'm asking you Jack, as my best friend, please don't say anything." Kate pleaded.

Jack had had enough. He quickly rose from the sofa. "You know what Kate, it seems to me that this 'friendship' is getting more one-sided every day. You came to me for help last night, and I did what I could. Then you felt the need to kiss me, even though you claim you didn't mean it, and I let you because I thought that's what you needed. Kate, I value our friendship more than anything else I have. But I won't let this become a one-way relationship. I realize that you're engaged and you have to make time for Tom, and I get that, even if I I'm not really on board with it. But damn Kate, I can't just give, give, give. I can't do it. I won't do it." Jack said, turning on his heel to exit the lounge, leaving Kate speechless and the tears ebbing once again.

* * *

The rest of the day passed slowly for Kate. She'd just sat there on the sofa for fifteen minutes after Jack had walked out on her, just thinking. Initially, she'd laughed off Jack's claims that this relationship was becoming more one-sided every single day, but as she took a moment to reflect over the past few months she was beginning to agree with him- as much as she didn't want to admit it.

She had been devoting more and more time to Tom and the wedding, but that was to be expected right? I mean, they did have a wedding to plan, and he was her fiancée. But she could admit to herself that she hadn't made any great deal of effort to spend time with Jack, apart from work that is. But what bothered her most was what Jack had said only seconds after.

"_I realize that you're engaged and you have to make time for Tom, and I get that, even if I'm not really on board with it." _

She knew Jack wasn't ever going to be overly friendly with Tom, but she'd held out hope they could at least have an affable relationship. But Kate did believe that Jack supported her decision to get married, but his rash outburst earlier had brought new information to light. He wasn't really on board with her marriage? Had he ever been? It would definitely explain Jack's weird behavior since she'd returned from New York. From the time he practically ran out of Federici's to the time he'd refused to speak to her for two days, to just twenty seconds ago when he'd challenged her to tell him she didn't feel anything when they'd kissed- he was definitely not acting like _her _Jack.

_What the hell was with that, anyway?_ Why the hell was he so determined to make her admit that what she felt? Because she had felt something. It was the same thing she felt the night they had slept together in college. It was the same thing she'd been feeling every day since. But why was he so keen to get her to admit it to? Did he feel what she'd felt for years? Did he feel it too?

It couldn't be. He'd had the better part of twenty years to say something. Anything. Why now?

_There's only way to know for sure. _Kate thought, picking herself up for her lunch with Tom, who was suddenly the last person she wanted to see right now. She was thinking about, no wishing, about another man. She'd always prided herself on being an honest person and now here she was about to go see her fiancé after three days and she wasn't at all happy about it. She wasn't even content; she just didn't want to see him.

Walking out of the doctor's lounge, Kate made a decision; she was going to confront Jack about it. She would get the bottom of this.

Kate made her way down to the hospital cafeteria and saw Tom waving to her from the far end of the room. She slowly made her way over to him, attempting to put all her personal problems into the back of her mind. She had so many things going on right now with her mother and now this revelation about Jack, she just needed to clear her head. She just hoped that Tom wouldn't notice anything was wrong.

"Hey baby." Tom greeted, getting up to kiss her. "How are you? You feeling any better since I called?"

"Not really. I guess I just feel…lost." Kate replied, returning the kiss with the minimum amount of caring necessary.

"Well, sometimes it helps to talk about it." Tom replied after sitting back down, clasping Kate's hands in his own across the table.

"No, I don't think it will." Kate replied, pulling one hand back to rest her head on.

"Kate, I came back here for you. Please talk to me." Tom begged her, lowering his head to the table in an attempt to get in Kate's view of the table. "What's going through that beautiful head of yours?"

"I dunno Tom. I feel lost, I feel confused, and I feel naïve. How did I miss it?" Kate said, noticing the unintentional double meaning of her words.

"You said it was a congenital heart defect. Those can be impossible to catch if you're not looking for them, Kate. There was nothing you could have done." Tom comforted.

"It's not that Tom. I thought she was going to be with me forever. For my wedding, for…for everything, Tom. But she's not…she's gone…and she's not coming back!" Kate cried.

"I'm sorry, Kate. I know you don't deal well with loss; it's just something that we're going to have to get used to. I'm here to help in any way you'll let me." Tom said, getting up from the table and moving across it to sit in the seat next to his sobbing fiancée. Taking her small frame into his arms.

"I'm sorry Tom, I just need a minute. Let me clean myself up and we can enjoy this lunch together." Kate said with a hint of bitterness, getting up to head over to the bathroom.

She hurried into the bathroom and wiped the tears off her face. _How could he say that? I just lost my mother, and here he is expecting me to just dust myself off. I wish he were more like Jack. _There it was again. _Jack did nothing but help me, and he's not even the person I'm closest to anymore- though maybe I should be._

She slowly made her way out of the bathroom intent on leaving this lunch to go and find Jack as quickly as possible. But the sight outside of the bathroom door made her stop in her tracks- he'd done her job for her.

There was the man who had occupied her mind this entire day and her fiancée, standing face to face just next to their table. Their faces looked calm enough, but Kate had known Jack long enough to know when he was nervous. His entire body tensed up. She could see it from here- standing 50 feet away.

She heard Tom say, "Look, Jack. Kate's been acting kinda weird- distant- since I got back from New York. I know I don't really have any right to accuse you of anything, but I know she came to see you the night she found out. Did anything happen between you two?"

At hearing this, Jack's body was not the only tense one in the room. Kate knew that Jack's response to this question would dictate her direct future.

If he told Tom what happened, that would surely mean the end of her engagement, but on the other hand it meant that Jack wanted that to happen, which also meant that Jack must share a hint of the feelings she did.

On the other hand, if he denied anything happening between them, then it proved he didn't feel the way she did and had only burst out in anger at her. She'd continue on in this great- but far from perfect- relationship and Jack would continue on as the best friend that she wanted so much more from, but knew she couldn't have.

She began walking over to the pair of them, slowly enough to allow Jack to answer. Right now, he held the power to drastically change her life with one word; and Kate wasn't sure which word she wanted to hear.

* * *

Jack had walked in to the cafeteria intent on grabbing some quick lunch before returning to the ICU. He felt strangely invigorated after his outburst to Kate. He'd been able to vent his feelings and frustrations, and she didn't have a clue what he was talking about.

Truth be told though, he felt extremely guilty about the way he'd yelled at her, the things he'd accused her of. He really had no right. She loved Tom; it was only natural for her to gravitate towards him more often.

His musings were interrupted by the sound of Dr. Perfect. "Jack! Hey!" He yelled, waving for him to meet him at the table he was sitting at.

Jack made over to the table, lunch tray in hand, but was unable to sit down. He saw the tray in front of the empty seat next to him and only assumed it was Kate's, but she was nowhere to be found. He quickly scanned the room looking for her to no avail, and when his eyes returned to the table he found Dr. Brennan standing only feet before him.

"Jack. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Jack replied, somewhat confused.

"It's about Kate." He continued.

"Oh. Yea, what's up?" Jack repeated his previous answer, his body unconsciously tensing up.

"Look, Jack. Kate's been acting kinda weird- distant- since I got back from New York. I know I don't really have any right to accuse you of anything, but I know she came to see you the night she found out. Did anything happen between you two?"

There it was; the elephant in the room. Right now he had the power to end Kate's relationship. It was definitely what he wanted, but what did Kate want? It was at this moment he spied Kate out of the corner of his eye, walking towards them with a tense, nervous expression on her face.

"_But I'm asking you Jack, as my best friend, please don't say anything."_

There comes a time in every man's life, when he has to make a choice. Whether it's a professional choice, or a personal one.

In the end, it's about integrity, and it's about chasing after what you really want. Even if that means showing you care a little. And sometimes, well sometimes, you just have to do what's right for your friend.

"No, Tom. Nothing happened."

Even if that means sacrificing your own personal happiness.

"Yea, I…didn't think so."

When it comes down to it, you just have to be proud of the decision you made.

**A/N: Hope you liked it, and please leave a review. They all help me get to it and start writing the next chapter as fast as possible. **

**Coming Up: The wedding is upon us. But not the ceremony just yet. **


	15. Tough Luck

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews last chapter. This one is the result of me not wanting to study for Biology and Organic Chem (Why on earth would I want to do that?), hopefully after finals I can get this cranked out and completed. Enjoy :D**

**Chapter 15: Tough Luck**

Two days.

She'd actually endured two days of this swirling wrath of emotions. Kate had felt them all in the past 48 hours- anger, curiosity, regret, guilt- she'd even felt a few she was pretty sure had never been felt before. How she hadn't tipped off Tom or Jack to her distress was beyond her comprehension.

Yet here she was heading to room 42 to change her last patient's IV and she was off to Atlantis. _Not the mythical underwater city,_ Kate thought wistfully, _but the island resort in the Bahamas- the place of her wedding to one Tom Brennan._

Kate turned around the last corner before reaching her destination and heading inside. Mr. Thompson had been the victim of a traffic accident and had only been admitted for twenty-four hours before lapsing into a coma. Jack wasn't optimistic about him ever waking up- yet his wife had not left his side in almost four days. She looked a wreck, but it didn't seem to bother her, she refused to leave his side.

Kate walked quietly in the room, intent on switching the IV and leaving with as little commotion as possible. She had completed the task successfully and without a word and was heading towards the hall when she heard Mrs. Thompson's voice behind her.

"He's not going to wake up, is he?" She asked timidly, realization dawning upon her.

"I can't really say, let me go get the doctor, I'm sure he can tell you." Kate replied, trying to escape the situation.

"I may be a lot of things, but I am not stupid. I've been sitting here for four days and every time a doctor comes in all I see is a look at the chart and the shake of their head. It may only take them fifteen seconds, but it speaks volumes. He's not going to survive is he?" Mrs. Thompson repeated, tears brimming her eyes.

"I really can't—" Kate stammered, gesturing towards the door.

"Please." The woman almost begged.

Kate stood silent for a moment, before whispering, "No, he's probably not going to wake up."

It was painfully obvious that Kate had just confirmed what she'd suspected for days now, but hearing it with such certainty brought the tears flowing full force. "Thank you." Mrs. Thompson meekly replied, sitting down next to her husband and grasping his hand in hers.

"I'm really sorry Mrs. Thompson. I know…I know that this must be hard on you." Kate said in an attempt console the soon-to-be widow. "If there's anything you need, please…I'm here."

"Oh don't worry about that honey, I'll be fine." Mrs. Thompson replied, a sad smile gracing her lips as she clutched her husband's hand.

"Can I ask you a question, Mrs. Thompson?" Kate asked.

"Sure, honey. Anything you want."

"If you knew that he wasn't coming back, and that you'd never see him again, why wouldn't you leave his side?" Kate asked softly, afraid to offend the woman.

Instead though, Mrs. Thompson looked at Kate like it had the most obvious answer in the world. "Because I love him, dear. We were married for 27 years and my love only grew for him every day, every year. Look at you, you're engaged, getting married any day now. You know that kind of love too, dear."

_Yea, I guess I do. _Kate thought to herself, but she knew that it was a lie.

* * *

Two months.

He'd actually endured two months of the most intense pain and torture he'd ever experienced without cracking. How he'd done it, well Jack had no idea.

Yet here was, sitting seat 23A on the plane to the Bahamas, a strange mixture of happiness, apprehension and regret flowing through his veins.

He had replayed that conversation with Tom over in his head almost hourly since it had occurred two days ago. He knew he'd made the right choice; that he'd done the _right _thing, but he couldn't help but wish he hadn't. Jack knew it was horribly selfish to even think such a thought, but he couldn't help it. He was the one with the history with Kate, he was the one she was supposed to end up with, and he was the one madly in lo…

His thoughts were brutally interrupted as the plane's gradual descent brought them out of the fantastical world above the cloud line and back to reality. He really could see everything from here- the crystal clear ocean, the Bahamas' famous sandy beaches, and Atlantis.

_No, not the mythical underwater city, _Jack mused to himself, although he couldn't measure how much he wished it were.

Atlantis, the island resort that Kate's wedding would be held at was truly a sight to behold. He could see it clearly now, even from an altitude of 10,000 feet, almost as big as the islands themselves. Jack couldn't deny he was jealous, as even on his improved surgical salary he could come nowhere near to affording a place like this.

The plane landed uneventfully and taxied to a stop at the gate. Minutes later, after Jack unloaded the overhead compartment containing two days worth of clothes and a suit, he was unsure of many things, but one thing he knew for sure was that it was going to be a long weekend.

Jack walked in to the expansive hotel lobby about an hour later, heading straight for the check in desk. "Good afternoon, sir. Can I help you?" The pretty blonde receptionist asked, a smile plastered on her face.

"Hi. I'm here for the Brennan-Austen wedding, the reservation's under Shephard." Jack replied tiredly, handing over his confirmation papers.

"Thank you Mr. Shephard, just one second." The receptionist replied, hands gliding over the keyboard to check him in.

Jack quickly ran his hand through his hair before rubbing his eyes in an attempt to wake himself up a little bit. It was a decent length flight and he'd been to deep in thought to even think about sleeping.

"Jack!" He thought he heard Kate's voice call out from behind him, and sure enough there she was walking across the lobby in his direction.

Jack groaned in slight discomfort as Kate nearly flew into his arms. "Hey Kate."

"I was beginning to think you weren't showing up. I thought you were gonna be here yesterday." Kate said, her right hand placed on his forearm.

_I could barely bring myself here today, nevermind yesterday. _"Yea, about that. I couldn't get off shift early. I had a surgery scheduled for Tuesday but the patient coded last night and I was in surgery until this morning. Long night I guess." He lied. He hadn't been on shift at all- exactly the opposite in fact. He'd been sitting at home with a bottle of scotch debating his attendance to this very event. Even Mark's constant stream of advice had barely convinced him to board the plane.

Kate chuckled softly, "The plane rides no walk in the park either."

"You have no idea." Jack replied, smiling softly.

"Hey, I'll let you finish checking in. I'll meet you over by the pool after." Kate said, kissing him on the cheek before heading over to the pool.

"Can't look pale in all the pictures, huh?" Jack said as she walked off.

"Nope." Kate replied, eyes lighting up as she smiled, before turning back around and heading outside.

"Girlfriend?" The receptionist asked nosily as she finished confirming Jack's room.

"Ah no, actually. She's the bride." Jack answered wryly after chuckling to himself, knowing it was somewhat awkward; a sentiment the receptionist wholeheartedly agreed with.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have drawn conclusions." The woman replied hurriedly, eager to avoid a confrontation.

"Yea, well… let's just say…well, let's just say it's complicated." Jack said, eager to leave the lobby. This was not a conversation he wanted to have.

The receptionist took the hint. "Well, here you go sir. You're in room 2040A. Please enjoy you're stay in Atlantis."

"I probably won't. But thanks." Jack replied, smirking as he walked away leaving the bewildered receptionist in his wake.

* * *

"See, I told you!" Mark exclaimed as he saw Jack enter the expansive pool area.

"Damn it Jack, why'd couldn't you put a bathing suit on!?" Kate joked, slightly upset that she'd lost the bet.

Jack, now suddenly feeling self-conscious, gave himself a once over. He thought he'd dressed relatively normal, in a t-shirt and some athletic shorts but apparently his two best friends had other ideas.

"What?" Jack said, somewhat indignant. "I've been here all of half an hour and I'm already disobeying the laws of the island? I'm sorry but I must have missed the instruction manual in my room."

"Yea well, that's ok. You're all dressed and ready to go anyway." Mark commented.

"Yea, well…wait, what?" Jack asked, realization striking.

"Basketball." Kate replied, simply. "Tom figured we should have some fun and relax before all the wedding stuff."

"Isn't the wedding night designed exactly for that?" Jack quipped, and Kate playfully slapped him on the arm. "I didn't mean just for you—well, for you too—but I meant for— nevermind." He tried to save himself, but realized he was rambling.

"Shut up, Jack." She retorted. "Now you ready to go or not? Or you scared that I'm gonna beat you?"

"Me? Scared of you? OK, Kate you're on. I'm gonna dribble rings…" Jack began.

"If you two are done verbally copulating, we've got a game to get to." Mark interrupted them, gesturing towards the hotel gym impatiently.

Kate laughed and began to walk towards Mark while Jack shook his head, a hint of a smile appearing on his face. "Hey Mark. Ask Jack how badly he's going down in basketball."

"Oh, great. You have an inside joke. How wonderful for you both."

Twenty minutes later and they were set to go. Jack, Mark and, regrettably, Sawyer were pitted against Kate, Tom and Danny, one of Tom's old college buddies.

Jack started with the ball first and dribbled up the court only to come face to face with Kate.

"Let's go, Shephard. Let's see what you got!" Kate taunted.

"Bring it on, Austen!" Jack retorted, before passing the ball towards Mark barely seconds after.

"What was that?"

"Didn't wanna hurt your feelings too early. That wouldn't be fair." Jack said as Mark made the open shot. "1-0 Kate, better pick it up."

Tom picked up the ball and dribbled to half-court where Mark came up to play defense. Tom easily moved by him and put up a shot from the free-throw line. The shot hit the back of the rim and bounced out. Both Kate and Jack immediately reacted towards the ball, eager to get the rebound.

Kate narrowly beat Jack to the ball courtesy of her small head start and grabbed it in both hands. Jack, arriving a second later, wrapped his arms around Kate in an effort to wrestle the ball out of her grasp, enveloping her in his strong arms in the process.

"Jack!" Kate laughed. "I got it."

"Not for long you don't." Jack retorted, still holding on to the ball- and Kate- as if his life depended on it.

"Foul!" Tom yelled from somewhere behind them. Jack heard him and spun around to protest the call.

"Foul? Seriously? The ball was loose and we both grabbed it." Jack moaned, vehemently disagreeing with Tom's decision. _He just wants me away from Kate, anyway. _On the other hand though, Kate wasn't paying any attention at all. Instead she began to sprint down the court, ball in hand, and had made it almost five yards before Jack caught on. "Oh, you are going to pay Austen." He yelled rushing to catch up with her.

The score was tied, 10-10. Jack was having one of the games of his life. On the other hand, so was Tom. Because of the fact that Tom had guarded Mark out of the game and Sawyer was virtually useless, Jack had scored eight of their teams ten points. On the other hand Tom had scored seven of his teams total, Danny and Kate combining to score only three.

Tom brought the ball up towards Mark, who, after being embarrassed for a good portion of the game, was eager to prove his worth to the team. He did everything in his power to keep Tom at bay, and to his credit, he succeeded.

Tom quickly realized this and signaled to Danny for the pick. Danny left Sawyer in his wake and beelined towards Mark's position. Jack quickly deduced that Tom would make quick work of Sawyer's defensive abilities once the pick enabled him to get past Mark, and Jack refused to lose this game.

He quickly left Kate standing open by the three-point line and headed straight for Mark's pick side. He arrived just in time and as Tom had just rounded Danny's pick and was making his way to the basket, he swiped the ball clean from the Tom's hand and flew in the other direction for the winning score.

Without about fifteen feet to go until the basket he could hear Tom's heavy breathing behind him. Jack willed himself on faster and leapt towards the basket as high as his tired legs would allow.

In midair he felt Tom's body to his left and his arm reaching towards his hand to block the ball in his outstretched right hand. Jack used his left arm to shrug him off and felt the space between them increase.

Knowing that he'd been victorious Jack finished his leap and emphatically dunked the basketball, proud of this small but significant victory over Tom.

"Yes!" Jack yelled, throwing his arms up in the air, as he looked back towards his teammates. They were all looking back at him, but not with expression of glee, but ones of trepidation and worry. "What the hell?" Jack muttered to himself looking around to see what he'd done wrong.

It took him a few seconds but he eventually spied Tom lying on the ground underneath the basket in clear pain. He was clutching his ankle and obviously doing everything he could to hold in the pain.

Jack felt very little sympathy, but unfortunately Kate felt exactly the opposite. She rushed across the court to Tom's side, checking his ankle as she asked him where it hurt and how it felt.

Jack stood a few feet behind Kate wondering what he'd ever done to deserve this.

Watching Tom beat him in everything and getting the girl was one thing, but losing and getting even more of her attention was another entirely.

**A/N: All reviews are really appreciated, and I apologize again about long update time. **

**Coming Up: More wedding stuff, maybe some Mr. Austen. Scratch that, there will be some Mr. Austen.**


	16. Meet the Brennans

**A/N: So, finally FINALS ARE OVER. I celebrated by putting about 15,000 words on the pages. They're split up in 4 (possibly 5--you'll see when you get closer to the end) chapters. I'd like to reach 100 reviews for this story, but I'm going to post a new chapter after 4 reviews. These 4 chapters will bring us to the end of the story and if you'd like to see an epilogue just let me know. I hope you enjoy this chapter, we're in the home stretch now :D.**

**Chapter 16: Meet the Brennans**

"Another round, please." Jack requested the bartender, prompting him to quickly refill their glasses.

"Here's to winning the basketball game." Mark said, raising his glass in celebration.

Jack raised his glass in return, but clearly wasn't as enthusiastic as his friend. "We didn't win, Mark. Well… I didn't win."

"What the hell were you expecting, man? We don't live in the stone ages; Kate's not going to pick a woman based on a physical competition. Although it would've made your job a damn sight easier." Mark commented, somewhat dryly, before chuckling at his own joke.

"That's a whole lot of help Mark, really." Jack sarcastically replied.

"Sorry, I was just talking to myself. So what's the plan? What are you gonna do now?" Mark said, moving the conversation forward.

Jack took a moment to think about the poignant question. After quickly pondering his options, he replied. "Nothing. I'm done."

That definitely wasn't what Mark had expected to hear. "Say what?"

"You heard me, Mark. I'm done with this. I've gotta move on, that ship has sailed." Jack replied solemnly, defeated.

"That doesn't sound like the Jack I know. What did you do when you failed your first Organic Chemistry test as an undergrad? What did you do when you didn't make the club basketball team? Hell, what did you do when Kate got mad when you told her Kevin was no good for her." Mark answered immediately, frustration boiling inside him.

Jack cracked a smile, he knew what he'd done all of those times. He'd studied for almost a week straight for the Organic test; he'd practiced until he was by far the best on the club basketball team and then refused their offer, and he'd bugged Kate about Kevin until she stopped talking to him. Bottom line, he didn't give up. "Yea, but this is different Mark. I'm not giving up, I never had a chance to begin with."

"Yea, Jack. You're not giving up, you're just settling for second best. That's what you're gonna be from now on, Jack. Second choice. The 'best friend'. The go to guy- when Tom's not around. Do you really want that?" Mark replied, he'd never seen Jack this defeated before, and it was killing him.

"Well maybe I'm Ok with second best, Mark? It beats being the screwup-who-I-never-talk-to-anymore." Jack replied angrily.

"Fine, Jack. But before you admit defeat, I need to tell you something. Five minutes, Jack. You owe me that much."

"Five minutes." Jack nodded stubbornly.

"Alright, Jack. You remember Adrian, right?" Mark began.

"Mark you already told me this story. It's what got me into this mess into the first place. "Another round!" Jack yelled to the bartender.

"Yea, well I didn't tell you the whole story. You didn't need to hear the middle bit then, but the situations changed. So you gonna let me help you or you gonna keep being an asshole?" Mark challenged.

"Fine, let's hear it." Jack replied, downing his newly poured shot.

"I did the same exact thing you're about to do with Kate. I tried just being friends, and you know how long it lasted?" Mark asked rhetorically. After pausing for a few seconds, he continued, "Two weeks. You think after a while the feelings go away, they don't. Ever. I know, I had it bad for Adrian, but you….you're not even in my league, man. You've been gone for a long time. Don't make the same mistake I did. I got two weeks before I finally told her." Mark continued to tell his story.

"Look where that got you." Jack muttered, interrupting Mark.

"Yea, well we're not the same person, Jack. Not every story ends the same way."

"You know what, Mark. You're dead right. Not every story ends the same way. Now, if you'll excuse me I have a bride and groom to congratulate." Jack said as he walked off to find Kate and Tom.

* * *

"Kate, I'd like you to meet my parents. David and Susan Brennan. Mom, dad, this is Kate, my fiancé."

"Pleasure to meet you, Kate. My apologies for getting here at this late house, but we had to catch a later flight." David Brennan greeted her without any warmth whatsoever, keeping his arm firmly wrapped around his wife.

"Likewise, Mr. Brennan. I've been dying to meet you. Tom's told me so much about you." Kate replied, not sure if she should attempt a handshake or keep her hands behind to her sides. Judging from Mr. Brennan's less than friendly expression she decided on the latter.

"Has he? Unfortunately we don't know all to much about you." Mrs. Brennan piped in, looking briefly at her son before returning her attention to their newfound interrogation subject.

The remark stung Kate, but she decided to continue on incase Susan's words just came out wrong. "Yea, things have moved incredibly fast. I guess it all just felt right, so…here we are." Kate rambled, a smile on her face.

"Has it really been that fast? Tom's never really talked to us about you." Mrs. Brennan continued icily, there was no denying the intent in her words now.

Kate was left speechless; unfortunately Mr. Brennan decided to pick up the slack for her. "So, what do you do, Kate?"

"I'm a nurse, actually. I work at the same hospital as Tom." Kate replied, not sure she wanted to continue this conversation.

"A nurse?" David repeated and shot his son a look which Kate would swear meant- 'really, a nurse?'.

"Yea, but that's not how we met. We actually met at a bar in New York." Kate continued, immediately regretting spouting off that little fact. _Great, now they're going to think I'm some bar skank that Tom picked up drunk._ _Why can't this ever be easy like it is with Jack? No, Kate. Don't go there. Just don't. Concentrate; meeting the in-laws is important, it's not like Dad's going to make the best impression, he's always liked Jack….oh god. That's going to be an awesome conversation to listen to._

"A bar? Really? That's….interesting." Mr. Brennan remarked, and once again Kate didn't need a guide to get the point behind the words.

"Yea, I was actually there for… business, and I went out one night to have some fun and there was Tom." Kate finished.

"That is quite a story, Kate. What happened after that to get you here so fast?" Mr. Brennan continued the questioning.

_Well, first I spent the entire night trying to figure out why the minute Jack lets me go I go out and find a guy who could have been a stunt double for Jack- the looks, the profession, the hobbies, everything. Then I spent a few hours deciding if I was just trying to have "Jack" without having Jack, or if I really like Tom for the guy he is. Lastly, I decided that I really wanted Jack but was gonna stick it out with Tom because he was a decent guy and that's the kind of person I am- just a scared, stubborn little girl._

"Love at first sight, I guess." Kate replied, throwing a small smile across her face. It made her feel dirty. She needed to get out of here, quickly.

As if my magic, she spied Jack over her left shoulder. The next time she looked back toward him, he had spotted her as well. She gave him a look that said 'save me', and attempted to save whatever dignity she had left.

* * *

Jack had only been searching for a few minutes when he spotted Kate talking to her future in-laws in the center of the room. He was about to reacquaint himself with the bar when Kate turned around that practically said 'help me', before turning back around and returning to her conversation.

_I'd be glad to. _Jack made his way over to the Brennan's and after being quickly introduced to the Brennan's he proceeded to bail Kate out.

"Hey, Kate. I hate to interrupt this, but your dad's looking for you. He asked me to bring you over if I saw you." Jack lied. _Not bad, Jack, not bad._

"Oh, Ok." Kate answered, smiling graciously, before turning back to her fiancé and soon to be in-laws, "I'm sorry. I guess we'll have to continue this later."

"Yea, say hello to your father for me, Kate." Tom answered.

"No problem, Tom." Kate yelled back as Jack led her away from the Brennans.

They walked roughly half the length of the room before finally stopping. Kate grabbed both of Jack's hands. "Thank you, Jack." She said, kissing him on the cheek. She began to walk away, but felt Jack's left hand tugging her back.

Answering her unasked question, Jack began to speak. "Kate. I know I haven't been the most supportive person in the world since this engagement started, but I wanted to tell you…" Jack paused, fighting the urge to stop, "I wanted to congratulate you. I never really told you how happy I am for you, that you're getting married. I'm just mad at myself for not being there for you until just now. So, sincerely for once, congratulations Mrs. Brennan."

There it was. He'd done it. He'd given up; he'd given in. _But I'll be damned if I don't kiss her one last time. I deserve that much, right?_

He slowly let go of her wrists and cupped her cheek with one hand before embracing her lips with his in an indescribable kiss. It wasn't incredibly romantic, nor was it solely chaste. It sat on the very line separating 'couple kiss' and 'friend kiss'. It lasted a few seconds to short in Jack's eyes, but not in Kate's.

"I've got to go see Claire. Thanks again for helping me out Jack."

"Yea, no problem." Jack answered distantly to Kate's retreating before putting his hands in his pockets and hanging his head.

"You're not over her, are you?" A male voice from behind asked casually.

"No, Mark, and I probably never will be. That make you happy? You win."

"Wow. You've got it worse than I thought if you think an old man like me could be Mark." The man replied, chuckling.

Jack turned around and saw that the man was no other than Sam Austen, Kate's father. _Shit._ I just divulged some pretty sensitive information to one of three people I _really _shouldn't have. "You know I wasn't talking about Kate then, it's an inside joke…" Jack began, but Sam's insistent chuckling quieted him rapidly.

"What's that old saying?" Sam paused trying to remember the correct phrase, "You can't kid a kidder, Jack. You know the first skill the CIA teaches you, Jack?"

"What's that?" Jack said, painfully aware Sam had figured out his predicament.

"Bullshitting." Sam answered. Seeing Jack's raised eyebrows, he continued, "I know. You'd think a government agent would need to know something about firing a gun, hand to hand combat, how to deal with months without human conversation, but no. Lesson one in the CIA handbook is 'How to bullshit'. So don't try to lie to me, son. I've known you way to long for that." Sam continued.

Jack simply nodded in return before looking back at the authoritative figure of Samuel Austen. "How long have you known?"

"Me? I've known since the first time Kate brought you back to our house in high school. But that's not important. The real question, is how long have you known?"

"A couple of months now, still to much of a coward to do anything about it, though." Jack replied openly, admitting it out loud for the first time.

Sam was silent for a few moments, but then spoke softly. "You know I wasn't surprised when I got a wedding invitation from Kate's address. I knew it was a long time coming. So imagine my surprise when I open it up and see some name I've never heard of on the invitation."

"You thought it was gonna be me?" Jack surmised.

"I knew it was gonna be you, at least I thought I did, until my daughter threw me a curveball."

"I don't know how you could be so sure- I was never anything more than a best friend to her." Jack answered, softly.

"You sure about that, Jack? I got a question for you, Jack. Did she ever tell you why we moved out to LA?"

"No, what's that got to do with anything?" Jack replied, quizzical.

"More than you'd think Jack, more than you'd think." Sam replied, a smug smile on his face.

"So why did you move out here, Mr. Austen?" Jack asked, interested perked.

"That's not for me to tell. Sorry, son but you'll have to ask Kate about that one." Sam replied, not relinquishing any information.

"In case you hadn't noticed, I just kissed her and she didn't exactly react the way I'd hoped. She ran off. It's not going to be easy to even find her, never mind actually talk to her." Jack replied, frustrated at Sam's mysterious mood.

Sam finished off his drink before grinning one last time. "Well then, Jack, you should probably start looking."

**A/N: I hope you liked it. If you did, please review so I can post the next chapter as fast as possible. Happy holidays!**

**Coming Up: Jack finds Kate, but not without a pitstop or two on the way.**


	17. Fate's A Fickle Foe

**A/N: Thanks for the quick reviews. I'd like to hit 100 for this story so I'll post the next chapter after 5 reviews. Otherwise I'll post it on Boxing Day before I leave for a few days. I hope you enjoy this chapter, the end is in sight. I don't own any shows that may be alluded to/referenced. :D Please tell me what you thought.**

**Chapter 17: Fate's A Fickle Foe**

Jack slowly made his way toward the elevators. He had a single destination in mind.

The north wing. The fifth floor. Room number 512.

But with every single step Jack took, the reasons not to continue multiplied, while the reasons to do just that dwindled exponentially. As every second passed, Jack's determination faded.

This was crunch time. This was his one final chance at something real with Kate, there was no denying that. He had one last chance to throw up a half-court shot at the buzzer, a hail-mary as time expires, whichever way he phrased it- there was to be one last hurrah.

He entered the elevator and selected his destination before jamming his fingers repeatedly on the 'door close' button to ensure he had at least thirty seconds worth of thought before he poured his soul out. He knew what he wanted to say; he just had to figure out how to say it.

Should he just knock on the door and say it? _No, that would be idiotic. What if she hates me for it? No, Sam wouldn't have told me to find her if he didn't think she could possibly feel the same way. _Should he ask her to tell him why the Austen's moved to California? _No, definitely not. That's way to direct, and accusatory. Then she'd just get defensive and probably slam the door in my face. _Should he just say-

Jack's thoughts were interrupted by the cruel 'ding' of the elevator. Unfortunately he had only reached the fourth floor. He looked out toward the hallway and saw none other than Kate's husband-to-be.

"Oh, hey Jack. Going up?" Tom greeted.

"Yea, gonna hit the sack. Long day tomorrow." Jack replied, crestfallen. _What the fuck did I do to deserve this? I can't even get a chance. Fate is one fickle foe._

"Yea, I hear ya, man. I'm just headed upstairs to tell Kate the photographer wants to start a little early tomorrow then I'm off to bed as well." Tom said cheerily. It was his wedding night after all.

"Oh, I'm headed past Kate's room to mine." Jack lied. _Only three floors off. _"I'll let her know if you want." Jack offered, pleading with Fate for a break.

Tom seemed to think about Jack's offer for a second. "You know what Jack, that'd be great. Thanks a lot. I'll see you tomorrow." He answered as he stepped out of the elevator and headed down the hall.

So, after a long and mightily nerve-wracking delay, the elevator was back on the move. Jack had about ten seconds to decide on his approach. Should he go for broke and say the three words, or should he skirt around the issue and hopefully get her to lay down some hints first? Of course there was always a third option.

Hit the '2' button.

The elevator doors opened once more and Jack made his decision. He briskly pressed the '2' button and walked out of the elevator and down the hall.

He'd reached the point of no return.

He was really doing this. There was no turning back now.

Before he knew it, he'd reached Kate's room. What had taken him seemingly hours the first time he'd walked to it had felt like a mere fifteen second journey. It didn't matter now, he was here and was determined to do what he came here to do. If that meant putting their friendship on the line, then so be it. He couldn't take _this_ anymore. What exactly _this _was, was a damn good question.

Jack felt that _this_ was the misconstrued smiles, the seemingly longing looks, the 'more-than-friendly' kisses she seemed so fond of giving him, the secrets they shared. Whatever _this_ was, Jack was sure he wanted- no, he needed- more.

Jack knocked on the door and prayed for an answer. It came emanating from the room a few seconds later. "Who is it?"

"It's me." Jack replied. _Great start Jack. It's "me". How the hell's she supposed to know who you are? You're talking through a door, man._

"Oh, hi Jack. I'll be right there." He heard Kate reply from inside the room. _Suck on that, stupid conscience. _

The door swung open softly to reveal a radiant-looking Kate. Well, she was only wearing a t-shirt and boy shorts, but she still looked absolutely gorgeous to Jack.

"What's up?" Kate asked, leaning against the doorframe. She knew he wanted to apologize for 'overstepping the friend line' before, but she wasn't sure she wanted to hear an apology. She wasn't sure if she wanted him to apologize.

"I was just walkin' to my room and thought I'd stop by, you know, see how you're doing?" Jack began lamely.

"Your room is three floors down, Jack? Nice try." Kate smiled, catching him in his lie.

"Ok, Tom asked me tell you that the photographer wants to start a couple minutes early tomorrow. So you and my sister need to get ready a little quicker than usual. I told him that's not possible, but he wouldn't listen." Jack joked, as much to lighten his mind as to redirect the attention away from him.

No dice.

"Ok, but that still doesn't explain why you were on your way three floors higher than you're room. So you wanna tell me what's really up? Are you here for payback because you helped me out this evening? I swear I'm good for it. I'll pay you back, Jack." Kate start moving to her own world- talking about something that honestly Jack couldn't care less about right now.

"No, that's not it." Jack said. He looked down the hall to his right and smiled to himself, still not quite believing the fact that he _was _going to tell Kate he loved her. It was all a bit- well unexpected. "I was just uhh…" Jack began to search for the right words, but nothing came. It was like his heart knew exactly what it wanted to say, but it's brain was still processing the fact that he was actually standing outside Kate's room- talking to the very person who constantly occupied his thoughts. He finally figured it was best just to come out and say it.

"I'm in love you." Jack stated.

Kate's shoulder slipped backward off the doorframe. She quickly regained her composure (at least a semblance of it) and replied, "What?"

_Ok, not the best possible response, but you've dived in now, you can't get out now._

"I'm really sorry if that's weird for you to hear, but…but I needed you to hear it." Jack replied, looking Kate right in the eyes, Kate looking back disbelievingly. "Probably not good timing, and I realize that but…" Jack continued, but Kate interrupted him.

"What are you doing, Jack? What do you expect me to say to that, Jack? I'm getting married tomorrow, Jack! What are you doing?" Kate whispered in a mix of frustration, happiness and disbelief.

"I just…I needed you to know. Once. Before…before I lost the chance." Jack said, hoping it was as good as rationale as it sounded to him.

"I can't, Jack. I can't." Kate answered. "You have no idea what you're —" Kate managed to say.

"Don't do that." Please, don't do that." Jack said, shaking his head. "Please, don't."

"—what you're friendship means to me." Kate finished anyway.

"Don't Kate. I wanna be more than that." Jack poured out his heart to her. He knew it was just a saying, but it was truly a wonder that it had enough energy left to pump blood throughout his body.

"I can't Jack." Kate whispered softly, eyes wandering from his wavering face to the floor. "I'm really sorry if you misinterpreted things…that's probably my fault."

To Kate's and his own surprise, Jack began shaking his head sadly. "Not your fault. I'm sorry…I'm sorry I misinterpreted our friendship." Jack finished, soul and body collapsing together, and gathered his possessions. His thoughts, his ravaged emotions and his dignity- at least what was left of it.

He turned and began walking to his own room when Sam's words from earlier that night occurred to him. He swiveled back around and was surprised to see Kate had not closed it yet, and tears were forming in her beautiful green eyes.

"Earlier tonight, your dad told me…he told me that there was a reason that you moved to LA. I asked him about it, but he said I'd have to find you. Was there really a reason, or was he just trying to get rid of me?" Jack said, his confidence level at absolute zero.

Upon hearing this, the solemn tear in Kate's eyes turned into a full-blown fit. She braced herself against the wall of her room and cried her eyes out. There was definitely a reason, and it was the main reason she almost wanted this wedding to go through; to sentence her to a life of almost perfect, but it was also something she did not want to talk about now.

"No, Jack. There's no reason." She muttered through her tear-stricken lips.

Hearing this was the final nail in the coffin for Jack. He understood that she'd never love him the way he loved her, but to lie to him so blatantly. He couldn't take that. He didn't think their friendship would ever stoop this low, but here it was- yet another milestone in the catastrophe that was this weekend.

"You know Kate, after all we've been through, after all the mistakes we've made… I understand that you don't' feel the way I do, but I'd like to think that you'd trust me enough to talk to me- to open up to someone." Jack began, steeling himself to continue. "There was a time when you did that, there was a time when we could count on each other. Just look how far we've come."

Jack paused slightly before continuing.

"I know I've made a whole lot of mistakes during my life, but this one I've come to regret the most. I had fifteen years to tell you how I felt. How I always thought we were destined to be more than friends. I guess I just always had faith that if we were meant to be, then we were meant to be." Jack spoke, not knowing the next word to come out of his mouth.

"But hey, I guess I was wrong. But for the rest of my life, I'll always know that it should've been _me_."

"Maybe in a couple years you'll figure that out too. I guess Fate just had a different plan for us than I thought—than I hoped." Jack finished. He had said his part, and slowly turned once more intending to get to his room and lie there until hell froze over.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Kate's voice could be heard clearly from behind him.

"Look, Kate. I'm telling you this now because we've danced around this for years now, and I've never had the courage to just stand up, put my neck on the line, and tell you how I feel. Well here goes; I never thought I'd find someone I care about as much as you. You're perfect in absolutely every way. And I want you to know, that I would give up everything else in my life, if that meant I could just have you." Jack answered dejectedly before his continuing his walk of shame toward the elevator.

"No, Jack. You don't get to do this. I love Tom, and I'm going to marry him tomorrow. How the hell am I supposed to know you're serious about this? For all I know you could just be jealous that from now on you're not the only guy in my life." The anger in her tone caused Jack to turn around and head back toward her door. "I bet you can't even tell me why you love me, can you Jack?" She almost yelled through the tears in her eyes before attempting to slam the door in his face, but Jack was faster. There was no way he was leaving before he made if perfectly clear how he felt about Kate.

The searing pain that shot through his foot was immense, but he fought it back. Why did he love Kate? There were so many reasons, where should he start?

Jack pushed the door open until he could see Kate once more, looked into Kate's eyes and realized that it wasn't worth it. If she couldn't tell that he was truly in this, then he'd lost the battle already. _What was the point?_

Stirring up the courage to say what he now knew would be a goodbye, he whispered, "Congratulations, Kate. I really will miss you. But I'll never stop loving you."

Jack removed his foot from the door and walked as fast as his feet would carry him to the stairwell- he couldn't risk running into someone else from the wedding party. That would be quite an incident.

His knees almost gave way several times down the six half-flights of stairs, but he made it to his room without tumbling headfirst down the fire escape.

He rushed into his room, allowed himself to crash on the uncomfortably comfortable bed and realized something he'd known deep down since he'd landed. "I can't do this."

**A/N: Hope you liked it. Let me know what you thought. What you liked, what you didn't...I'd like to know.**

**Coming up: Kate's reaction.**

**You know what else I just realized? The Other Man initials spell out Tom. I thought that was kinda weird and random considering I didn't plan it at all, just picked a Lost episode title and played with it a bit :D. Anyway, until next time.**


	18. Brand New Day

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews, and I'm glad you liked this chapter. This (along with Unwitting Sacrifice) are my two favorite chapters so far. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Oh, I don't own any of the songs in this chapter (or Lost for that matter). Let's try and make it to 6 reviews before I post the (possibly) final chapter. **

**Chapter 18: Brand New Day**

Her big day had finally arrived. Of course, she said big 'day' because she hadn't slept all night. She had a splitting headache; her mind was still reeling from her confrontation with Jack the night before. His confession had torn her apart at the seams. One half of her was incredibly angry that he'd decided that her last night as a single woman would be the best time to confess his undying and profuse love for her. Another half of her was overwhelmed with joy that he had finally admitted to what she'd hoped for so long. Another half still was trying to figure out what the hell she was going to do. All three halves of her mind working in overdrive was definitely contributing to the pain in her skull. It was getting so bad that Kate almost didn't realize that she'd figuratively split her brain into three halves.

She slowly got out of bed and checked herself out in the mirror- hopefully the bags under her eyes weren't that noticeable. She almost gasped when she looked at herself in the mirror. _Nope, they are definitely noticeable._

But it wasn't just the bags under her eyes, the makeup she'd been wearing last night had run down both of her cheeks as a result of her incessant tears after Jack had vanished, and her eyes were still red-rimmed and partially swollen. _So much for looking nice today, _Kate thought to herself.

She felt eerily weird about her decision to shoot down Jack. It had definitely been the right the thing to do, after all Tom had been nothing but loving and kind to her, it wouldn't be fair to just dump him because Jack finally grew a pair of testicles. But in the back of her head, there was a small section of her mind that continued to wonder, was it what she really wanted?

She'd wanted Jack since the moment she'd met him in high school. His goofy smile, his infectious laugh, she'd been smitten with everything about him. Though he'd changed greatly in front of her eyes over the years, those things she loved about him were still as present as ever. Even last night when he'd walked away with the weight of the world on his shoulders, he'd thrown her a sad smile before turning and entering the elevator. That smile had nearly caused her to start off running, catch the elevator doors, and envelop his body in hers. Almost.

But what had stopped her from doing that? Was it the vision of Tom waiting at the altar the next afternoon? Kate didn't believe it. There was not a shred of doubt in her mind that she loved Tom, but the love she held for him would never near eclipsing the love she held for Jack. It was like comparing a mountain with a molehill, albeit a pretty big molehill.

Was it the fact that Jack had only told her his innermost emotions less than twenty four hours before she was wedded? No, it wasn't that either. She'd hoped and feared those words for fifteen years; it didn't matter if she was standing up on the altar when he said it- the impact would have been exactly the same. So, Kate repeated, _Why didn't I run after him?_

In all honesty, she was ready to go. Her shoulder had left the doorframe when one of Jack's words hit her. Hit her hard.

"_Earlier tonight, your dad told me…he told me that there was a reason that you moved to LA. Was there really a reason, or was he just trying to get rid of me?" He'd said._

_Bingo._ The one moment she'd least expected it; the fear had crept back in. The fear of losing the one's she loved so much. The fear that had uprooted her entire family and moved them 1,500 miles west, the fear that had ended her one chance at one true love. As upsetting as it was, Kate was ready to accept that, if only for Jack's safety. She couldn't bare the thought of losing Jack, boyfriend or not. She wasn't sure she'd be able to go on- with life, with work, with anything. _Yea,_ Kate rationalized, _that's why I didn't go after him._

She knew it was weak at best, but nevertheless she put some clothes on and went to meet Claire and the rest of her bridal party to get dressed and ready.

She was going to need a hell of a lot of makeup today- and not just for the tearstains on her cheeks. She'd taken cold feet to an entirely new level.

* * *

_Most kind of stories, _

_Save the best part for last, _

_Most stories have a hero, who finds, _

_You make your past your past, _

_Yea you make your past your past. _

_It's a brand new day, _

_The sun is shinning, _

_It's a brand new day, _

_For the first time, _

_In such a long, long time, _

_I know, I'll be ok. _

"Flight 84 to LAX now boarding at Gate 3." The PA announced rather loudly, taking no notice that it was barely morning.

Jack wearily grabbed his solitary bag and made his way to the check-in desk, preparing his boarding pass and passport for identification.

"Good morning, sir. Passport and boarding pass, please." The attendant requested, holding her hand toward him politely.

"Here you go." Jack replied, tiredness etched throughout his voice, but doing his best to appear polite and put-together, although 'not an emotional wreck' would work just as well.

The attendant quickly scanned both his passport and boarding pass before handing the stub back to him and granting him admission to the plane. Never one to linger, Jack eagerly swiped back his passport and boarded the Boeing 737. "Enjoy your flight, sir."

"Oh, I doubt it." Jack mumbled softly as he walked through the gate towards the aircraft's cabin. He plopped down in his seat in the very back of plane, thankful he had managed to get a seat on such short notice- normally five hours notice was about a few weeks to short.

Jack threw his iPod headphones on while he gazed out the window, thankfully the man who was seated next to him had already passed out- Jack could still smell the faint stench of alcohol- one he was all to familiar with after the events of the past weekend.

The peace and quiet didn't last long though, unfortunately. After turning off his iPod for finding it's choice of random songs appalling (_One Thing _by Finger Eleven followed by _No One's Gonna Love You_ by Band of Horses and finally _Skinny Love_ by Bon Iver), a family of four entered his section of the plane- but this was no ordinary family of four. Nature just wouldn't allow that right now, would it? He was stuck behind two parents and two babies on what was, apparently, their first ever airplane.

_This plane ride is really going to suck._

After enduring one of the most painful taxi's of his life, the plane finally took off, but Jack's torture was only beginning. As the plane ascended from the runway, Jack was one again treated to the beautiful, yet tainted, sight of Atlantis. And how he wished it was the mythical city one more.

He checked his watch and noticed the time was almost 9:30am, which meant Kate would be getting gussied up for her wedding photos, which fortunately for him, Jack would not be taking part in.

As the plane begin to rise into the cloudline, Jack waved a mental goodbye to all of his friends, his sister, and Kate because he knew that once he landed in Los Angeles, he may never see them again.

Sometime between entering and exiting the elevator last night Jack had decided that Los Angeles just didn't do it for him anymore. His stupid job, crappy apartment, shitty social life- he just couldn't do it anymore. He had decided he was going to move somewhere where he could start over- _Tabula Rasa_. Probably somewhere on the East coast- he just had to leave California. Of course there was another reason for all this looming above him, but at this moment in time, Jack wasn't quite ready to admit that.

As the plan continued to climb toward 35,000 feet and thick cloud line looming above, Jack could see his old life disappearing from sight and his new life- a life as clear and open as the Caribbean sky- coming into view.

_This cycle never ends,_

_Gotta fall in order to mend. _

_And it's a brand new day, _

_It's a brand new day, _

_For the first time, _

_Inn such a long, long time, _

_I know, I'll be ok._

* * *

"Honey, look at your eyes, you're gonna need some extra makeup to look your best today. What happened? Did you—" Kate's lifelong friend, and bridesmaid, Rose asked.

"It's not what you think, Ok? I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night." Kate answered, eager to dispel any further questions.

"Honey, that's exactly what I thought. Everyone gets nervous the night before their wedding it's perfectly normal- and I speak from personal experience." Rose answered. "So you were up all night thinking about Tom, is that it? Cause there's nothing wrong with that dear."

"Yea, something like that." Kate said, desperate to get Jack out of her head, but frustratingly unable to do so.

"Talk to me, Katie. I've known you since you were a little girl, you know you can tell me anything." Rose said comfortingly.

"It's nothing, Rose. Really. I just…I just had trouble getting to sleep." Kate lied softly.

"Ok, dear, but know that you can come to me with anything." Rose said as Claire came bursting into the room.

"I got some hairpins! Now let's do this Kate, let's get you ready to get married to your dream doctor." Claire said cheerily. _Speaking of Kate's dream doctor, where the hell is that stupid brother of mine. I thought he'd have stopped by today already. _

Kate cringed softly when she heard Claire's offhanded remark, but luckily it appeared that no one had noticed. Unfortunately for her, she was wrong.

"Will you sit still, Kate? I'd rather not poke your skull with one of these things. Can't have you bleeding profusely in your wedding pictures- it'd ruin them!" Claire scolded, and received and glare from both Kate and rose. "Alright, we can't have you bleeding anytime- even if you're not taking pictures." Claire corrected herself, drawing a small smile from Rose and Kate.

"Ah, damnit. Claire, honey, you think you could go find another hairpin, this one just snapped." Rose asked, leading Claire to reluctantly hustle off to find a replacement piece. "Alright, Kate. I'm going to give you some advice. Will you give me a few minutes? You don't have to take it if you don't want- but just…just listen." Rose requested, and Kate slowly nodded her head in compliance.

"When you go out there on that altar- when you read your vows- when you kiss Tom- that's it. It's signed and sealed, there's no going back. If you have issues with Tom or with whomever, then you need to work them out now or you'll never get the chance. So I'm going to ask you one last time, Kate. Is there anything you'd like to ask me?" Rose commanded sternly, taking on a motherly tone.

Kate paused, resting her head in the palm of her right hand before beginning slowly. "Rose, how did you know that Bernard was the man for you? Did it just happen?" She asked softly.

"Oh, baby, if you're asking me that question now then you've already got your answer. He's not. Bernard was the sweetest, most charming, caring person I'd ever met- even when he screwed up I still loved him for it." Rose began, reminiscing of her first few dates with her husband, "but the long and short of it is- he was always there for me. And at the end of the day, those are the guys you want. The guy who's always there to have your back, without you even having to ask."

Rose's words provoked something inside of Kate, and she began to think back through the past few years of her life.

Jack had been there for her when Kevin had dumped her in the middle of New York.

Jack had been there for her when she'd had to back out of babysitting Aaron.

Jack had definitely been there for her when her mother had passed away.

Jack had been there to rescue her from the horrible situation that had been meeting the Brennan's. Kate chuckled to herself at that last memory; she didn't know what she wouldn't have done without him.

That's when it hit her.

Jack may have been there all those times, but it'd taken her all this time to realize the more important fact.

Tom hadn't been.

Kate quickly rose from her seat. "Thank you, Rose. I think I have to go see someone." She said quickly, wrapping her friend in a hug.

"Anytime, honey. Anytime." Rose replied softly, a smile spreading across her features at the sight of Kate nearly sprinting from the room. Whoever this guy was, was a damn lucky guy.

Kate reached the 2nd floor in record time and reached Jack's room to find the housekeeping cart parked across the hall and Jack's door wide open. She sprinted through the door and readied herself to jump into his arms, but the sight in front of her halted her dead in her tracks.

The room was immaculate, not an object out of place. Surveying the room she saw the maid exit the bathroom and immediately walked up to her. "Hi, where is the man that is staying here?" Kate said, still out of breath from her rush to the room.

"Uhhh…" The maid looked down at her room roster, "Dr. Shephard checked out this morning. He didn't give a reason why, just left. I am sorry, can I help you?" The woman responded kindly.

"He didn't leave anything did he?" Kate asked desperately. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes. As if she needed a deeper shade of red than the one currently occupying her eyelids.

"I'm not sure. But please, look around. Be my guest." The woman answered politely before returning to her duties.

Kate frantically searched the room- Jack must have left something. _Please, Jack. Please, I need to hear from you. I'm begging you, Jack._ She searched through the table, the small desk in the corner of the room, the bedside table. Nothing. In one last vain attempt she slowly opened the drawer in the bedside table- but instead of finding what she expected she found a small folded piece of paper upon which the word 'Kate' was scrawled in Jack's unmistakably bad handwriting…

_Jack had made up his mind- he was leaving. There was no way he'd be able to sit through a ceremony where his best friend and the love of his life pledged herself to 'Dr. Perfect'. Maybe he'd have been Ok if he hadn't opened himself up to her the night before, knowing that there was still that slim possibility that she held a fraction of the glowing torch he held for her, but knowing was definitely worse. Knowing that there was zero chance she reciprocated his feelings was just too much to handle. _

_He'd followed Mark's first piece of advice and admitted to Kate what he really thought of her- all that remained was to finish executing the plan. You tell her, and she either embraces you with open arms or you're relationship is essentially finished. At a roadblock, going absolutely nowhere. Maybe with someone else he'd be able to get over it and remained friends with the newly minted Mrs. Brennan and her charming husband, but Jack knew he was too far gone for such silly thoughts, and so he'd made up his mind to leave._

_He sat down in the comfortless chair in the corner of his room and attempted to answer Kate's questions to him. Why did he love her? What did he love about her? _

_Well, put simply, he loved everything about her. He glanced at a piece of paper in the corner of his eye and decided Kate deserved and answer to his question, and he deserved that she know that it was all true- it was all real._

_Jack picked up a pen that was strewn about the room and began to bind his thoughts to the paper…_

Kate picked up the paper, and tears already streaming down her face she began to read through, all the while wishing she could travel back in time just a few hours.

_Kate,_

_When I got into that elevator to talk to you, my mind was in a million places at once. I knew what I wanted to try and say, and I knew exactly how I hoped you'd react (You were going to jump into my arms and kiss me, just in case you're wondering). But when you asked me that question, I guess I panicked. I can think of a million reasons why I love you, but when the time came, I just couldn't think straight enough to put them into words (Great fucking job, Jack). When you asked me that question, a million thoughts ran through my head, but I still couldn't tell you why I love you, I just knew that I did (Real helpful, huh?)._

As she slowly read through Jack's words, the tears that had welled up behind her pupils were now flowing down her cheeks, still though she couldn't help but smile through her tears. Even in such a turbulent time for him, he still had the humility to make fun of himself for his flaws and mistakes, a quality she'd always admired about him.

The maid, on the other hand, had noticed Kate's obvious distress and decided to discretely exit the room, leaving Kate alone with the last remnant of Jack's presence at her wedding. Kate wiped the tears out of her eyes before slowly continuing down the page.

_So I'm lying here in the middle of the night, staring at this blank, white ceiling berating myself for screwing up all those chances I had to tell you sooner (If you want to know, I think _that_ night meant more to me than to you. That night was a dream come true. If you didn't wanna know, then…well it really doesn't matter then does it?). I guess it's gotten me thinking. I realize that it's too late for me and you, but I owe it to myself to answer your question._

Kate knew exactly what night he was talking about; though she was coming to doubt it had meant more to him. It would have to have meant a hell of a lot to him.

_I love the way your smile is infectious, the way you laugh at all my stupid, corny jokes. I love how you're the one person I can confide in and I love the way you can confide in me. And even if that's not true anymore, I hope you don't mind if I keep believing it is. _Kate laughed softly, that silly love struck grin appearing on her face for the countless time since she began reading._ I love the way I get nervous whenever you so much as look at me, and I love the way my knees go weak whenever our skin brushes together. I've never felt this way about anyone before. But the moment that I truly, truly realized that you were the only one for me was when you told me you were getting married (Sucks for me, right?). Yea, I know it sounds incredibly cheesy and cliché but what can I say? Odds are you're never going to see this letter anyway…so what's it matter if I make a fool of myself._

_So that's why it was in the back corner of this drawer, crumpled up,_ Kate thought sadly, _he didn't want to ruin this day for me, even if I'd ruined his._ Not bothering to wipe the tears from her cheeks, she continued down the now tear-soaked paper.

_I wanted to say something, anything. I didn't know what I expected, or even hoped would happen- but I needed to stop you from marrying him. Why? Because he wasn't me, and I always hoped- believed- it would be. I know it's selfish, and it looks like I got what I deserved, but hey…that's love. I'm crazy about you Kate, and I want you to know if I had the choice of going out with anyone in the world, or sitting at home eating pizza watching crappy reality TV…I'd choose you every time. _

_But back to my original point… I didn't say anything, despite how much I wanted to, because I realized something Kate. I don't deserve you. Not in any sense of the word. You deserve everything you ever dreamed of- the giant white house, 2.34 kids, the handsome surgeon husband, all of it. The thing is Tom can give you all that and more. As much as I've tried, and as much as I'd like to believe I can, I just don't measure up._

_You're right Jack. I do deserve a handsome surgeon husband,_ Kate mused as she continued through the letter.

_Well I'm starting to feel like a sap writing a love letter to someone who's never going to read it, so just let me say that I __want __ need you to know that I love you more than anything in the world, and that I always will, even if you don't._

_P.S. If you've actually gotten this far into the letter without tearing it up and heading to your honeymoon, then I guess I did what I set out to do. I've convinced this non-existent version of you that this is all real._

_I still feel like I owe you an apology though._

_I'm sorry Kate, but I don't have it in me to stay for you're wedding. I fooled myself into thinking I could watch you recite vows of love to another man, but boy was I screwing with myself. I guess you can add it to my tab of jackassery (Ironic, huh?)- I missed my best friend's wedding because I'm a selfish bastard._

_I'm all packed (well, my single bag) and I'm ready to leave. Hopefully when the housekeeper finds this in the morning I'll be long gone and saved the embarrassment. I just hope there's more than one gorgeous brunette named Kate about to get married this weekend at the hotel (Yea, right.) or the real version of you doesn't want to read it._

_It looks like this is the end. I figure I should tell you that I'm going to be…_

The rest of the paragraph had been crossed out, but so heavily that Kate couldn't discern what had been written on the page.

To be honest, she wasn't sure she wanted to know. It would hurt to much. She'd never seen Jack give up before, and for the first time to because of her broke something inside of her, something she never wanted to feel broken again. Hesitantly, she skipped over the darkened section to the final line.

_So let me be the first to congratulate you, Kate Brennan._

For the first time, she noticed that it didn't have the same ring it once did.

She searched the page for something, anything more, and when she found nothing instead clutched the page close to her chest, but it made a lame substitute for Jack himself.

She couldn't help but be amazed by Jack's strength. Here he was attempting to give up the love of his life, but at the same time trying his best not to affect her. The man was truly amazing. He was going through the most intense emotion meltdown of his life, and he'd told her to marry Tom anyway because he could never match up.

Kate took a moment to compose herself and wipe the tears from her eyes before heading out of Jack's room and into the hallway.

She knew what she had to. It was going to be incredibly difficult, but it was for the best.

She could only hope he'd understand.

**A/N: Hope you liked it. Please drop a review, and tell me what you thought.**

**Coming up: You don't really think I'm going to give away the ending do you?**


	19. I'd Rather Be With You

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, I really appreciate them. I'm glad you liked last chapter, and I hope this chapter concludes the story well enough. Please let me know what you think, even if you hated it, and tell me if you want an epilogue. It wouldn't be anything heavy, probably some fluff and some missing conversations. **

**If you'd like to know what Kate said to Tom (I figured what Kate said to Jack was more important :D) then let me know. Especially tell me if you want to see $$hole Tom or understanding Tom. If you dont' care what went down with Tom, I'd love to know what you'd like to see in an epilogue, I'll try and incorporate your ideas.**

**Chapter 19: I'd Rather Be With You**

_Sitting here, on this lonely dock_

_Watch the rain play on the ocean top_

_All the things I feel I need to say_

_I can't explain in any other way_

It had been almost twenty-fours now since Jack had confronted Kate, and while his mood hadn't quite changed, his outlook had.

He'd arrived home to his desolate apartment at around noon and immediately set about packing. He'd headed down to Staples and bought more boxes than he could conceivably get home and quickly set to work.

He'd already completed his bathroom, bedroom and undersized office before realizing he was getting hungry- heavy lifting does that to a guy. He'd ordered a delivery pizza from Federici's of all places and sat down in his couch to organize the living room and decide which pictures he'd take with him East, and those he'd leave here in LA with Claire, for it'd be her apartment soon.

He figured he wouldn't get much money from this place anyway, and no matter how he felt about Kate, he would always feel guilty for leaving his sister behind once more- so he told himself that this apartment would be hers after he left. _After all, no one in the world is crazy enough to live with mom and dad,_ Jack thought jokingly. Thankfully, he'd decided to call during the ceremony and got Claire's voicemail; saving him the trouble of explaining his absence.

He began to sift through the pictures he'd strewn across the couch and began to relive the brilliant memories behind those pictures.

The first picture he found was one that Mrs. Austen had given to him many years earlier; it was the first day Jack had gone over to Kate's house in their freshman year of high school. It was like they'd had a connection from the first time they'd met, you could almost see the compassion and care in their eyes; Kate looking carefree and at ease, and Jack…well Jack had never seen himself look happier. He wouldn't label it love, but it'd be something close.

A knock at the door drew Jack out of his reminiscence and he carefully put the picture in the 'Keep' box beside the couch before heading over to the door. He grabbed the $20 bill he'd left on the table and opened the front door to his apartment.

"Hey, how's it goin?" Jack greeted the woman at his door.

"Hi. That'll be $12.84." The woman answered, accepting Jack's payment. She handed him the pizza before fumbling around for the change. From what Jack could tell, she was only carrying singles, nickels and pennies.

"You know what, just keep the change." Jack waved and turned back into his apartment, hearing the woman shout "Thanks" before closing the door to the outside world.

He sat down on his couch once more and opened the pizza box, almost salivating at the contents. _Why did I have to find out about Tom at Federici's? I have missed this pizza _so much._ Why couldn't it have been somewhere else? Hell, how about not at all? I wouldn't have missed this delicious pizza for so long. Why couldn't it have been at White Castle or something?_

Jack grabbed a slice in his right hand, and, using his free hand to pick up the television remote, turned on the television. It was just about the last working electronic object in the entire apartment, and Jack had saved it just for this purpose.

Flipping through the channels though, he found absolutely nothing interesting. The only basketball game on was the Clippers _(Seriously, the Clippers?)_, and all his favorite sitcoms were on a weeklong hiatus. He'd always enjoyed watching Steve Carell make a complete and utter fool of himself on television. _On the bright side, he must really look forward to every day. That's gotta be awesome._

Jack finally settled on some stupid reality show, "Deal or No Deal". _Why is it that 95% of the people don't know when to quit? When you've got one cent, one dollar and a thousand dollars on the board and the banker offers you a couple hundred, you take the deal! It's not that difficult._

While Jack generally couldn't watch people throwing away money, occasionally he got the odd satisfaction when they were beyond idiotic in doing so.

After watching one man take home $20 after being left with that and $100,000 on the board, Jack was feeling weirdly content. Maybe dwelling in others misfortune was Jack's favored way of coping? He hoped he wouldn't have to do any further testing on the subject. In fact, he hoped he could get to Boston, throw himself into his work and pretend all this was all some horrible dream.

_Hey, so I lost Kate. But at least I went down swinging. That's the only way to go, right?_

_I need to be bold_

_Need to jump in the cold water_

_Need to grow older with a girl like you_

_Finally see you are naturally_

_The one to make it so easy_

_When you show me the truth_

_Yeah, I'd rather be with you_

_Say you want the same thing too_

Another rap on the door brought Jack's attention away from possibly some of the crappiest television to ever exist. The list went daytime soaps, reality TV, then just about anything on NBC excluding "Chuck" (obviously) and of course, "The Office".

_Figures, I've been expecting Mark to show up since I walked in the door. There's no way he didn't notice me conspicuously missing from the ceremony. This ought to be fun._

He slowly made his over to the door for the second time in less than fifteen minutes and swung it open. "Mark, I don't want to talk about it. And I'm _really _not in the mood for a lecture." Jack said softly, staring anywhere but at the man in front of him.

"Well that's good." Came the distinctly feminine, not-Mark's voice from in front of him.

"Kate? What the hell are you doing here?" Jack said, doing a double take just to make sure it was really her and not his tired, confused eyes playing tricks on him. After the weekend he'd had, he wouldn't put it past the realm of possibility. "Shouldn't you be on a plane to somewhere like the Canary Islands?"

"No, I don't think so. Not yet anyway." Kate replied, smiling slightly, but as for a reason Jack could only guess, he sure as hell wasn't happy about it. "Not yet?" He probed, looking for an answer. It was really not cool to come see him again right before leaving on her honeymoon. That was stooping to a new low. Akin to a Michael Scott fake-firing low.

But Kate ignored his question. "I came to talk to you." She informed him.

"That's great, Kate. But I don't want your sympathy." Jack retorted, his voice rising.

"That's not why I'm here, Jack." Kate said softly, the volume of her voice unwavering.

"Then why the hell are you here Kate? To rub it in my face? Cause you can _trust_ me on this one, I won't stick around to listen." Jack told her, frustration and disappointment may as well have been written across his forehead, as he left the doorway and walked inside his apartment. He was done with this, he'd done it once before and it was a mistake he would not repeat.

"Jack, I already told you. I came here to—" Kate began, but something in Jack's apartment caught his attention. "What the hell are all these boxes for?" She asked, directing her attention to a to Jack's back, for his head couldn't be seen as it was buried in his arms on the couch.

Jack took a minute to compose himself and calm himself down. He thought about lying, but decided it wasn't worth it. He was leaving anyway, so why not? He slowly answered, "I'm leaving LA." He said, not bothering to turn to face her. He wasn't sure he could. "I didn't want to tell you, because well, well what was the point? I didn't want to put a damper on the beginning of your married life and I couldn't take being just friends with you. So, I decided I wouldn't tell you. It was probably for the best, but well that doesn't matter now does it." Jack said, reacting to the fact he'd ended up telling her anyway. "When I got home this morning I started packing, and here I am."

"Where are you going? What are you going to do?" Kate said; now her voice was higher pitched and rising in volume as well as speed.

"Don't worry about me Kate. I got a job in Boston. Apparently doctors who are basic surgeons as well as an experienced attending are in high demand. Guess you're husband was good for something, huh?" Jack said, chuckling softly at the irony. "He may have weeded me out of my old life, but hey, he got me started anew. So I can't blame him for _that _much.

"Jack…" Kate spoke, but Jack continued on anyway.

"I just hope he has the stones to give me a decent reference when they call him in a few weeks. You'll put in a good word for me, right? I know I probably don't deserve it but—" Jack continued rambling. A habit he had when he was nervous.

"Jack!" Kate yelled, this time Jack abruptly stopped and actually turned to face her for a change. "I don't think I can do that." She continued softly.

Jack's expression dropped immediately. "Oh. So you told him about last night. No problem. I understand it was a lot to ask. I just figured I'd try." He said flippantly. "But can you at least tell me why not?"

"Because he's not my husband."

_Now here's the sun, come to dry the rain_

_Warm my shoulders and relieve my pain_

_You're the one thing that I'm missing here_

_With you beside me I no longer fear_

"Oh." Was Jack's curt response. "Well then I can see how it'd be kinda tough." Jack remarked, to confused to understand what she'd actually just told him.

"I wasn't exactly expecting that." Jack continued once he'd had a moment to process the information thoroughly. "I guess that's you meant by 'talk'. What happened?"

"It's not something I really wanna talk about." It was Kate's turn to examine the floor.

"Well, if you're here you may as well come sit down and enjoy my pizza with me. It's going to go cold soon anyway." He said, gesturing to a seat on the couch beside him.

Kate smiled softly at him before making her way around the couch and sitting beside him. She quickly took in her surroundings- the Federici's pizza, "Deal or No Deal", and Jack with a tentative smile adorning his features.

"It's ironic, isn't it?" Kate commented offhandedly, attempting to get Jack's attention.

"What is?" Jack asked, unsure what she was talking about.

"The pizza, the crappy television show…did you have a hot date you turned down as well?" She clarified.

"Not unless you count the pizza delivery woman." Jack played along, but was confused at first, and he truly wondered what Kate was talking about. He'd never told her anything like that, he'd only…_I wrote it. But…how?_

"How do you know about that?" Jack said, hoping and praying she hadn't found the letter. _I'd go from the loser friend to the giant sap. I think I need to get an earlier flight._

Kate didn't respond, but reached inside her back pocket, revealing a folded version of the same crumpled piece of paper Jack had hidden inside the bedside table. "I found this, when I came to talk to you last night. I didn't think I'd have to fly a few thousands miles to actually do it though."

"Yea, well. I didn't really think you'd wanna talk to me, and I didn't wanna fuck up you're day. So I figured I'd…well, vent to myself. So much for that plan, huh?." Jack added offhandedly.

"Jack, I know you thought you were writing to some other-worldly version of me, but now that I found it…did you mean what you wrote?" She asked, somewhat afraid of his answer.

"Kate, I would turn down a date with a Victoria's Secret model to hang out with you, I would fly halfway around the world just to see you. Yea, Kate, I meant every word. Why?"

"Because…because I love you too." She said, and watched with delight as the small smile on Jack's face grew indescribably fast. He reached across the couch and pulled her to him in one of the most intimate embraces she'd ever experienced.

They reluctantly ended their embrace what seemed like a few hundred seconds later and Kate snuggled into Jack's shoulder as they continued to watch TV, content with each other's company.

_I need to be bold_

_Need to jump in the cold water_

_Need to grow older with a girl like you_

_Finally see you are naturally_

_The one to make it so easy_

_When you show me the truth_

_Yeah, I'd rather be with you_

_Say you want the same thing too_

Finally, Kate spoke up. "I lied, you know."

"Hmm?" Jack inquired, his heart still beating twice as fast as usual.

"When I told you there was no reason we left Iowa."

"Yea. I know." Jack replied, pulling her closer.

"I wanna tell you why we did it. It might explain why this, " Kate cupped his cheek in her hand and kissed him softly, "took so long to happen."

"Kate. I know that this is hard for you. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. Just having you in my arms is good enough for me."

"No, I want to Jack. I need to." Kate affirmed to him, and he nodded his head simply in response. "I lived in Iowa until I was 14 years old. That part you know. It was just me, my mom and dad and my little brother, Connor. I was homeschooled and mom was always busy working and dad was constantly out of the country on business so Connor was all I had. He was almost a year younger than me, but we did everything together." Kate said, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "We'd play on the farm, go exploring in the woods behind our house, everything. Connor was my one true friend for the first 13 and a half years of my life. I wouldn't have known what to do without him." Kate continued her story, wiping the formation of tears in her eyes.

"When I was 13 all my grandparents came over for Christmas. It was amazing, I'd never had my family all together at the same time before and I'd never experienced anything like it. It was perfect." Kate sighed, recalling the memory, "My mom gave me ice skates for Christmas, and so the next day my grandparents, Connor and me all set out for the pond a few miles from our house." Kate sniffed, and Jack held her closer.

"But we never made it to the pond. We….we hit a patch of ice…and my grandpa lost control…we collided headfirst with a tree….and everyone else in the car died on impact. I was the one person lucky enough to survive. I really didn't know what was happening, it all happened so fast and I was just 13…but then I saw Connor lulled over on his side, bleeding and I…I…" Kate couldn't continue and instead collapsed into Jack's reassuring form.

"Oh, Kate. I am so sorry." Jack consoled her as the tears fell. "I am so sorry." He repeated softly.

_I could have saved so much time for us_

_Had I seen the way to get to where I am today_

_You waited on me for so long_

_So now, listen to me say:_

"Thanks, Jack." Kate replied through soft sobs, but continued to cry. She did so for several minutes until she finally spoke up again, "From then on, I told myself that I wouldn't let myself truly love anyone. Because I felt like anyone I loved I was going to lose- it was the same way with my mom and dad…and with you. I know it's stupid, but it's just how my mind wired itself after…after Connor died. I couldn't let it go, no matter how stupid it was. I wouldn't let you suffer the same fate because of the way I felt about you."

"Shh Kate, it's Ok. It wasn't stupid, it was what any person would have done." Jack assured her.

"That's why I wouldn't let you see how much I loved you- I didn't want the same thing to happen to you. The truth is, that night in college meant more to me than you could ever know, even if it didn't seem like that back then."

_I need to be bold _

_Need to jump in the cold water _

_Need to grow older with a girl like you _

_Finally see you are naturally _

_The one to make it so easy _

"If you don't mind me asking, what changed your mind?" Jack whispered into her ear.

"A couple of things actually." Kate whispered, "The first thing was when Rose told me how to find the perfect guy and then…then I read this." Kate finished, holding up the piece of paper. "To find out that my stupid method of protecting you was actually hurting you…that was the final straw. I gave up trying to interfere with fate. I've wanted you since that day when I showed up as the new girl at school, and now—"

"Now you've finally got me, Kate." Jack finished for her. She looked up at him and beamed before placing her head back on his chest.

_When you show me the truth _

_Yeah, I'd rather be with you _

_Say you want the same thing too _

_Say you feel the way I do_

"And Kate?" Jack inquired, watching her perk her head up slowly to look into his chocolate brown eyes. Jack stared straight back into her emerald green orbs and muttered, "I'm not going anywhere."

**A/N: Hope you liked it. Please review, and let me know if you want an epilogue!!!**


	20. Fresh Feeling

**A/N: Sorry it's a little late, but I was busy over New Years. Here's a small epilogue for the story, it's a lot lighter than the rest of the story (hopefully). I've continued the idea of setting the chapter to a song. The previous two chapters were Joshua Radin's Brand New Day and I'd Rather Be With You and this is set to the Eel's Fresh Feeling. Needless to say, I don't own either, nor do I own Lost. But I hope you like it and please leave a review :D. **

**Chapter 20: Fresh Feeling**

_It's been one hell of a year, _Jack thought to himself as he made his way out of the liquor store on State Street. _It started out looking really good, hit a life-low about midway through, but…damn did it end well._

There were a lot of things Jack would change about this year, but there was also plenty of things he wouldn't. In an ideal world, they wouldn't have lost Kate's mother, none of their patient's would have passed away, and he'd have married Kate ages ago, but it just wasn't to be.

Instead though, he'd endured one of the most difficult but rewarding years of his life- and what a ride it had been.

As he made the relatively short trip home through the crowded, bustling roads of Boston Jack couldn't help but think back to the day it had all finally come together. The morning his life had turned around.

_You don't have a clue,_

_What it is like to be next to you,_

_I'm here to tell you,_

_That it is good,_

_That it is true,_

"_Now you've finally got me, Kate." Jack finished for her. She looked up at him and beamed before placing her head back on his chest._

"_And Kate?" Jack inquired, watching her perk her head up slowly to look into his chocolate brown eyes. Jack stared straight back into her emerald green orbs and muttered, "I'm not going anywhere."_

"_You better not", she whispered seductively as she maneuvered her right leg over him, straddling him, with her face barely inches from his. _

_Jack thought about cracking a joke, but thought better of it. After all, there was an extremely beautiful brunette almost begging him to kiss her. He would have to have some type of insanity plea to turn down an offer like that._

_After fifteen minutes of what could only be described as "serious necking", Kate pulled back a second. She had a look on her face that Jack knew could only mean one thing: she wanted to take this to the bedroom. He grinned but waited for her to speak, wanting to hear it for the first of hopefully many times._

"_You know Jack. We do have one problem." Kate whispered into his ear._

"_Oh, yea? And what's that?" Jack said, playing along with Kate's little charade._

"_Work is really going to suck tomorrow." Kate finished, letting out the most beautiful giggle Jack had ever heard as she crashed back into his chest. It was like she'd known what he'd expected her to say._

"_Who says we have to go back to the hospital tomorrow?" Jack said, causing Kate to once again lift her head off of the comforts off Jack's chest._

"_What do you mean?" Kate questioned, not really sure where this conversation would lead. "Are you trying to say that you're going to whisk me off somewhere in the middle of the night and ravish me until the end of days?"_

"_No...well, yea, if you want to do that, I'm game? I mean, I would get on a plane with you tonight if you wanted to…no questions asked, you just say the word and I'm—" Jack rambled on awkwardly; it was a nervous habit of his, one thing that Kate loved about him._

"_Jack, you're rambling." Kate interrupted him._

"_Right…sorry. So that's a no on the ravishing then?" Jack attempted to clarify, earning him a smack on the shoulder._

"_Jack! First of all, you could ravish me on this couch right now if you wanted to. I wouldn't _need _to go anywhere." Kate explained to him. "But I wanna know what you meant by not going to work tomorrow." She pouted, the one thing she knew, and had for a long time, that he couldn't resist._

"_You know Kate, that sounded an awful lot like an invitation. What kind of man would I be if I turned it down?" Jack replied coyly before pressing his lips to hers again. _

_It felt similar to _that_ night, but oddly…better. The electricity she felt as his hands found the bare skin underneath her shirt was…indescribable. It was ten times the pleasure she'd felt all those years ago, and that alone was some doing. She wanted nothing more than to finish this in the bedroom, or on the couch, hell or on the floor, but the need for an answer grew stronger._

"_Jack, if you keep kissing me like that I'm going forget all about what you said, and trust me once we get in that bedroom we're not leaving for like…ever. Just tell me Jack, I'm not going anywhere. But I'd hurry, because I think Mr. Peep down there is getting antsy."_

"_Well, can you blame him?" Jack asked in reply, "You know what…don't answer that." Jack laughed to himself before continuing on, "I was just thinking... this place is already packed…if you wanted…I could help you pack yours and _we_ could move to Boston. Leave this place behind, start fresh."_

"_That sounds great Jack, but have you really thought about it? What about our jobs? Our friends? What would we do about that?"_

"_I'm pretty sure I have a job lined up in Boston, the guy seemed nice enough I could always put in a word for the best nurse in Los Angeles. But so what if I don't get to keep this job, the biggest city in the world is three hours south of it. As for our friends, we're a four-hour flight away Kate. It's not like we're on some remote island in the south Pacific. We'll see our friends again, no matter where we are. Besides, the only person I really need is right here."_

"_You really thought about this a lot didn't you?" Kate commented as she thought about Jack's plan, not failing to notice Jack's final words and the effect they had on her._

"_Yea, it only took some minor tweaking from a solo trip to a two person one." Jack joked, shrugging his shoulders. "Except when it was a solo trip I was focusing on how to avoid things that reminded me of Los Angeles, but that doesn't matter anymore does it?"_

"_Ok." _

"_Ok? Really? No big inquisition? That's it?" Jack asked, bemused at her quick, confident answer._

"_Yea Jack. You seem like you thought about it a lot, and while I'm kinda sorry you had to in the first place, you're right- it would be for the best." Kate explained her thoughts, "I trust you Jack, don't ever forget that."_

"_Well now that that's out of the way." Jack began to say as he grabbed Kate's ass and picked them up off the sofa, causing Kate to wrap her legs around him and draw herself closer as he lead the way to their bedroom. Kate was giggling incessantly as Jack muttered, "Mr. Peep is _really _getting antsy."_

_Birds singing a song, old paint is peeling,_

_This is that fresh, that fresh feeling,_

_Words can't be that strong,_

_My heart is reeling,_

_This is that fresh, that fresh feeling,_

Jack smiled as he thought about the rest of that night. It had happened weeks ago, but he could remember every detail like it was only last night. He was snapped out of his reverie by the sound of his cell phone blaring out _The Kooks' _"Always Where I Need to Be".

"Hey babe." He said, picking up the bag of alcohol and exiting the car.

Jack had to hold the phone back momentarily for fear his eardrums may burst from the sound emanating from his cell phone. "Where are you Jack?! You're parents are going to be here any minute! You know how they feel about me!" Kate's panic stricken voice boomed through the speaker.

"Kate, honey, don't worry, trust me. I'll be home before they get here. Don't worry." Jack said, smiling to himself.

"I'm sorry Jack, I do trust you, but if they get here before you get home I don't know what I'll-" Kate's voice momentarily stopped as the doorbell rang, "Jack! They're here! What am I going to do?" He heard Kate yell, but the vast majority of her voice wasn't coming through the phone anymore.

Jack knew it was very likely he was about to earn a slap, but hopefully the look on her face right before she realized would be worth it. It all depended on the degree of "slappage", to be honest.

Kate swung the front door open, putting on the most polite smile she could muster in such a stressed situation. "Hey Mr. Shephard…Mrs…"

"Guess again." Jack said, putting on his toothiest grin before watching Kate's smile turn to fire before his very eyes._ Oh shit_, Jack thought.

Jack immediately moved the bag of drinks from his side to directly in front of him, hoping to ward off any incoming limbs, causing Kate to laugh and sigh with relief.

"Oh, thank god it's you. I don't know what I would've done if it was your parents. I would've had to explain, well all of this." Kate said.

"Well, luckily, we wont have to find out." Jack said, thanking his lucky stars that she reacted kindly. He wrapped his arm around her and lead her back into their cozy house on the edges of Boston before suggesting as he put the liquor down, "You know Kate, my parents aren't supposed to here for at least 45 minutes. I think we have time for some pre-party lovin', don't you?"

"I thought you'd never ask, Dr. Shephard, now get your beautiful ass upstairs before I lose my patience. I have been waiting all day, you know." Kate said as she lead him to their bedroom.

"Hey, I've had to wait all day to." Jack defended himself.

"Yea, but you don't have the mood swings of a month-old pregnancy to deal with you, do you? I swear I can go from horny to stressed to horny three times a morning some days." Kate retorted, making a firm point.

"Oh please," Jack laughed as he opened the door, "I can knock that out on the way to work."

"Oh, comere you." She replied with a smile of her own, drawing him to her before Jack softly maneuvered them on to the bed, their lips and bodies firmly entangled.

_Try; try to forget what's in the past,_

_Tomorrow is here,_

_Love,_

_Orange sky above lighting your way,_

_There's nothing to fear,_

The lovers proceeded to lose themselves in one another, rolling around the bed, exploring each other, for what seemed like the shortest fifteen minutes of their young lives when they both clearly heard the doorbell ring. Jack groaned. "Really dad, now?"

But Kate did not see the lighter side of this. "Now what are we gonna do?"

Upon seeing the look on his girlfriends face, Jack wiped the frown off of his own. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

"What do you mean what am I talking about? Isnt it obvious?" Kate said, panic and worry setting in quickly- one of the downsides of pregnancy. "You're parents are downstairs. We can't just leave 'em out there, I don't want to face them alone with all this news just yet, and you're…well you're incapacitated…" She continued, gesturing towards his now bulging pants.

"I dunno, I don't think they'd be _too _bothered if we left them there for a few minutes." Jack attempted, not looking forward to what came next for him.

He got a playful slap on the chest for his troubles. "You are impossible sometimes."

"Ok, Ok. I have an idea." He said, reaching for the phone. "Hey Mark. You landed already right? Awesome. I need a favor." Jack began to explain what he needed from Mark, and surprisingly Mark didn't ask to many questions. A few moments later and Jack hung up the phone. "Ok, I managed to buy us about an hour. So, shall we pick up where we left off?"

Kate smiled, before closing the gap between them once again. She kissed his neck a few times before working her way towards his ear before whispering, "Nah, I'm good, Jack. That whole 'parents are here' episode and I'm not really in the mood anymore. Maybe later." Kate said, grinning menacingly as she walked from the room.

"Aww Kate. That's cruel. After all that work to buy us some time…not cool! You're gonna pay for that!"

Kate laughed at that one in the hallway before poking her head back into the room. "Yea, right Jack. You couldn't keep your hands off me for 24 hours."

"Oh, it's on." Jack replied, up to the challenge- in more ways than one.

* * *

"Dude, I can't thank you enough for the save earlier. Me and Kate were—" Jack began thanking his best friend for saving his ass earlier, but was interrupted by his booming laughter.

"Jack, please. Do you honestly think I haven't figured it out? I mean you were trying to get me off the phone before you'd even explained what you needed me for." Mark answered, "You were buttering Kate's muffin, playing' hide the salami, bumping uglies…I read you, dude." Mark chided, putting his hand up in the air for a high-five just as Kate arrived at Jack's side, thankfully oblivious to Mark's rant.

Jack wrapped his arms around Kate from behind before replying, "Still doing that, huh?"

"Doing what?" Kate interjected, eager to figure out what her boyfriend and Mark were up to.

"Oh, nothing honey. Don't worry about it." He said, leaning down to kiss Kate's neck from his position holding her back to his chest.

"No, not usually." Mark responded, "But I had to make sure you were getting some, daily and nightly and ever so rightly!" He continued, attempting another high-five. The second one rejected in as many minutes.

Kate immediately turned around in Jack's arms and gave him a stern look, causing Jack to cringe. He mouthed 'sorry' before turning back to Mark. "I missed _this_, ya know?" He said sarcastically, gesturing between them.

"Glad I could help." Mark said, before departing through the crowd of people that had gathered in the living room to ring in the New Year. "Oh, and Jack?" Mark yelled back, "See what happens when you take my advice? You can thank me later."

Jack shook his head, smiling softly and doing just that as he stared at the woman in his arms. He owed Mark- _big time_.

"What?" Kate voiced her thoughts. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She repeated, before something clicked in her head and she looked in the direction Mark had occupied only seconds ago before returning her attention to Jack. "No…you didn't. You took _dating_ advice from Mark? From Mark! Really?" Kate asked, giggling incredulously at the idea of it.

"Kate, I have no idea what you're talking about." Jack denied flatly.

"You really did, didn't you? You took advice from Mark about _women._ Couldn't you have picked someone I don't know…successful in that department?" She said, not bothering to whisper.

"You know, there isn't _that _many people in this room." Mark could be heard from behind them. "I _can_ hear you."

Kate, having heard Mark's comment, buried her head in Jack's shoulder before repeating her previous question. "You did, didn't you?"

"Hey, it worked didn't it?" Jack replied as Dick Clark could be heard heralding in the New Year.

_Birds singing a song, old paint is peeling,_

_This is that fresh, that fresh feeling,_

_Words can't be that strong,_

_My heart is reeling,_

_This is that fresh, that fresh feeling,_

"10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…Happy New Year!" The words were bellowed from the TV set as well as from the numerous guests occupying their living room.

Jack diverted his eyes quickly to the television before returning them to the object of his heart's desire. He was about to lean down to give her a New Years kiss, but was pleasantly surprised when she jumped into his arms to do just that.

"Happy New Year, Jack." She whispered after they broke the kiss.

"Happy New Year, Kate." Jack replied, crashing his lips to hers for more.

* * *

It had been one hell of a night. About an hour after the new decade arrived, Jack and Kate left the party in the hands of Mark, a decision Jack hoped he wouldn't regret, and got some sleep, only to wake again five hours later to begin what would be an intense day of traveling. Surprisingly, Kate hadn't tried anything in bed to win the bet, which confused Jack somewhat. She was one of the most competitive people he'd ever met, perhaps even more so than himself- a feat in itself.

They'd boarded their flight to Owen Roberts International airport at just past 8:00am. Kate quickly adopted her second favorite sleeping position upon Jack's shoulder (her favorite would have been slightly inappropriate); Jack placed an arm around her waist and drifted off to sleep himself. They awoke three and a half hours later- just in time for arrival.

It took less than an hour to move through immigration and customs and before Jack knew it they had stepped out of the crowded airport and into the beautiful winter weather of the Cayman Islands. Of course, winter weather in the Cayman's still consisted of 75-degree days minimum, so 'winter' was slightly misleading. One thing was for sure though; it was a damn-sight better than the 22 inches of snow currently residing back in Boston.

They'd arrived at their oceanfront hotel only twenty minutes later and Kate had wasted no time in beginning their vacation in style.

Jack was lying on the bed regaining his breath while his beautiful lover lay naked on his chest doing the same.

"Wow." Jack breathed.

"That's it?" Kate asked, feigning indignance.

"No, I've got plenty more adjectives to describe that. I just don't have the energy to think of them- or say them- right now." He said softly, still catching his breath.

They lay just like that in silence for a comfortable few minutes before Kate picked her head up and crawled up the bed once again towards Jack.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked, staring into his eyes, which told the entire story.

Jack thought about his answer for a minute. He could say that he was thinking about how lucky he was to have her lying on top of him in one of the most beautiful places in the world, or how lucky he was to have been allowed to place that amazing diamond ring on her finger only three nights ago, or how lucky he was to be able to spend of his life with her, but instead he simply uttered, "This."

"Good answer." She said, placing a kiss on his neck.

_Some people are good,_

_Babe in the 'hood,_

_So pure and so free,_

_I'd make a safe bet,_

_You're gonna get whatever you need,_

"What are you grinning about?" Jack returned the favor before gazing straight back into her eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about Jack Shephard." Kate feigned innocence.

"Nothing I guess, you've just that look in your eyes." He answered sheepishly.

"I do not have a 'look'." Kate retorted in a fit of laughter.

"Yes, you do. It's right there. That one." Jack said pointing towards her as he joined in her infectious laughter.

"You really wanna know, don't you?" Kate replied.

"If you don't mind…" Jack answered, craving an answer.

"Fine. I was just thinking about how I'm about to have my way with you- again- in the Cayman Islands. Just like I said I would two months ago."

Jack recalled the moment he realized the person at his door was not Mark like it had happened yesterday.

"_Kate? What the hell are you doing here?" Jack said, doing a double take just to make sure it was really her and not his tired, confused eyes playing tricks on him. "Shouldn't you be on a plane to somewhere like the Canary Islands?"_

"_No, I don't think so. Not yet anyway." Kate replied, smiling slightly, but as for a reason Jack could only guess, he sure as hell wasn't happy about it. "Not yet?"_

_So that's what she meant, _Jack thought wryly, placing his lips upon hers for what seemed like the millionth time today- not that he was complaining.

"Oh, and Jack?" Kate whispered seductively as Jack's hands found their way to her breasts.

"Yea?" He breathed.

"I told you couldn't keep your hands off me."

_Ah well. You win some, you lose some._

**A/N: Well that's it for this story, you might see with a new one out in a few weeks. I think I'm going to venture into the Chuck universe for a bit though, so if you're interested in that show definitely look out for it soon.**

**Anyway, thanks alot for sticking with this story through some crazy long update times and I want to thank you all for the reviews along the way, they were the main thing that kept this story moving (at the snail's pace it sometimes did :D). Hopefully you'll like how I tied up the story well enough to leave one final review. Thanks.**

**P.S. 27 days... and counting.**


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